Clearing house lots and wooded acreage with the town's wetland and riverfront zones mapped first.
We clear land in Andover for builders preparing house lots, homeowners planning an addition or driveway, and landowners reclaiming overgrown or wooded acreage. Our track loaders, mini excavator and grapple handle trees, stumps and brush, and our trucks and trailers haul debris off site. Stumps can be ground in place or pulled, depending on what comes next.
Call (978) 696-6659 or use Get a Quote with the address, a rough size and what the land is being prepared for. If the job is mostly brush and small trees, forestry mulching may be a lighter option.
In Andover the wetlands bylaw, not just the lot line, often sets how far clearing can go. Three conditions drive most planning.
The bylaw defines altering a resource area to include the destruction of plant life, including the cutting of trees, within 100 feet of wetlands and ponds and 200 feet of rivers. Clearing a lot with a brook or wet corner can therefore need a Conservation Commission permit before the first tree comes down.
Abutters must be notified, the Commission holds a public hearing within 21 days of a complete application, and a permit must be recorded at the Registry of Deeds before work starts. Build that time into the schedule for any parcel near wetlands.
West Andover includes the Fish Brook and Haggetts Pond Watershed Protection Overlay District, which protects the water supply and is enforced in part through the wetlands bylaw. Large clearing near the pond or brook gets more scrutiny than the same job elsewhere.
Andover is shaped by drumlins, eskers and glacial erratics. After clearing, hills and boulders affect how the ground can be graded and how stumps are handled, so we look at slope and rock in the first site visit.
Larger clearing jobs can trigger town and state rules. These are the ones we look for with you.
Wetlands bylaw. Andover's bylaw regulates land within 100 feet of wetlands and ponds and within 200 feet of rivers, with a 25-foot no-disturb area and a 50-foot no-build area generally applied in the inner buffer. Permits need abutter notice and a Conservation Commission hearing (Town fact sheet (opens in a new tab); bylaw (opens in a new tab)). Check the Town's GIS Viewer for mapped wetlands.
Forest Cutting Practices Act. Commercial cutting of more than 25,000 board feet or 50 cords on a parcel at one time needs a forest cutting plan filed with DCR and the local conservation commission at least ten business days ahead, with notice to abutters within 200 feet (Mass.gov guide (opens in a new tab)).
Dig Safe. In Massachusetts a ticket is required regardless of where excavation is, with at least 72 hours of notice excluding weekends and holidays (Dig Safe Excavator Manual (opens in a new tab)).
Also confirm zoning and building permits with the Town. This is general guidance, not legal advice.
Sources: Town of Andover: Wetlands Protection By-law Fact Sheet; Town of Andover: Wetlands Protection Bylaw; Mass.gov: Forest Cutting Practices Act; Dig Safe System: Excavator Manual (Nov 2025), notice rules for NH and MA
HomeAdvisor (opens in a new tab) lists national land clearing costs at roughly $500 to $5,600 per acre and notes that heavily forested land can cost about three times as much. These are national reference ranges, not our prices, and permit timelines in a wetland buffer can affect scheduling as much as the work itself. We price land clearing after looking at the lot. For brush or small trees, our forestry mulching cost calculator gives a rough starting point.
Cost references: HomeAdvisor: How Much Does It Cost to Clear Land
A few places locals know, and what they mean for outdoor work nearby.
A state forest of about 3,300 acres that spans Andover, North Andover, Middleton and North Reading, with rolling hills, glacial erratics, rocky outcroppings, ponds and swamps. Properties that border it sit in the same wooded, rocky ground, where boundary lines and hidden boulders matter.
Get directions to Harold Parker State Forest (opens Google Maps in a new tab)A 704-acre Trustees of Reservations property in Andover and North Andover, where Holt Hill at 420 feet is the highest point in Essex County. Steep wooded ground like this shows up on nearby lots, where slope and access affect equipment choice.
Get directions to Ward Reservation (opens Google Maps in a new tab)The reservoir in west Andover that supplies the town's water. The Fish Brook and Haggetts Pond Watershed Protection Overlay District adds extra watershed rules that Andover's Conservation Commission helps enforce.
Get directions to Haggetts Pond (opens Google Maps in a new tab)One of the perennial streams the town names in its wetlands guidance, alongside Fish Brook, Husseys Brook and Rogers Brook. Each carries a 200-foot riverfront area under the town's bylaw, which reaches well past most backyards.
Get directions to Shawsheen River (opens Google Maps in a new tab)Photos from our crew's jobs across New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
Only if the work is within 100 feet of a wetland or pond, or 200 feet of a river or perennial stream. Cutting trees there counts as altering under Andover's bylaw. Look up your address on the Town's GIS Viewer and ask the Conservation Department.
The bylaw has the Commission open a hearing within 21 days of a complete application and issue its decision within 21 days of closing it. Abutter notice and recording the permit at the Registry of Deeds come before work starts. Plan for weeks, not days.
Possibly. Commercial cutting above 25,000 board feet or 50 cords on a parcel at one time needs a forest cutting plan filed with DCR and the conservation commission. Smaller commercial harvests are exempt, and so is cutting for your own use.
We can grind them 4 to 8 inches below grade or pull them, based on what you plan to build. In a wetland buffer the Town may ask that stumps stay in place.
Yes. Our trucks and trailers haul logs and debris off site. In a wetland buffer the Town may require wood and chips to leave the area.
See every town we cover on our service areas page.
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