Trees, brush and stumps cleared for house lots, additions, driveways and yard expansions, with the permit questions sorted out early.
We clear land in Derry for homeowners expanding a yard, builders preparing a house lot or addition, and landowners opening up a driveway, field or pad. Our track loaders, mini excavator and grapple handle the trees, brush and stumps, and our trucks and trailers haul the debris so the site is ready for the next trade.
Call (603) 438-6492 or use Get a Quote with your address, a rough outline of the area and any survey or site plan you have. On Derry lots near wetlands or water, the clearing limits matter as much as the clearing itself, so we start by talking through where the work stops.
Derry has a lot of wooded acreage between its downtown and East Derry, but wetlands and waterways run through much of it. These are the local factors that change a clearing plan.
Derry zoning maps poorly drained soils, marshes and wetlands into an overlay district, and designated prime wetlands carry a 150-foot buffer. If your clearing limits approach a wet area, the line on the site plan sets where our equipment stops, and the town may need to review the work first.
Beaver Brook, the Spicket River and the Exeter River watersheds all drain parts of Derry. Clearing near a stream bank can need a state wetlands permit, so we keep equipment back from banks and leave vegetation in place until the limits are confirmed.
A one-lot clearing is usually well under state thresholds, but larger subdivisions or commercial pads in Derry can cross the Alteration of Terrain limits. Knowing the total square footage early decides whether a stormwater plan is needed before we start.
Wooded parcels in the rural parts of town can hold sawlogs worth selling. In New Hampshire, a timber cut generally needs a Notice of Intent to Cut filed with the town assessors before work begins, so plan that step if logs will leave the property.
Small yard clearings rarely need a permit. Larger projects in Derry should check these rules before the first tree comes down.
Alteration of Terrain. NHDES says an Alteration of Terrain permit (opens in a new tab) is required when a project disturbs more than 100,000 square feet, or 50,000 square feet if any part is in the protected shoreland, or when it disturbs slopes of 25% or steeper within 50 feet of surface water. The underlying law is RSA 485-A:17 (opens in a new tab).
Wetlands. RSA 482-A:3 (opens in a new tab) bars excavating, removing or filling in banks, marshes or swamps without a state permit. Locally, Derry's Wetlands Conservation Overlay District (opens in a new tab) adds its own limits, including a 150-foot buffer around prime wetlands.
Timber. If cut wood will be sold, RSA 79:10 (opens in a new tab) requires the owner to file a Notice of Intent to Cut with the local assessing officials before the cutting starts.
This is general guidance, not legal advice. Check with the Derry Planning Department and NHDES for your parcel. We will flag anything on the site that looks like a permit question.
Sources: NHDES: Alteration of Terrain Permitting; NH RSA 485-A:17 Terrain Alteration; NH RSA 482-A:3 Excavating and Dredging Permit; Town of Derry Code, Article X: Wetlands Conservation Overlay District; NH RSA 79:10 Notice of Intent to Cut
National reference ranges from HomeGuide (updated November 2025) put land clearing at $1,200 to $8,000 per acre. Light clearing runs about $1,200 to $2,500 per acre, heavily wooded land about $4,500 to $8,000 per acre, and stump removal during clearing about $100 to $400 per stump. These are national planning numbers, not our prices.
Every clearing job is quoted on site. If the goal is brush and small trees rather than a bare lot, compare with forestry mulching and our forestry mulching cost calculator.
Cost references: HomeGuide: How Much Does It Cost to Clear Land?
A few places locals know, and what they mean for outdoor work nearby.
The poet's former farm on Route 28 (Rockingham Road), now a state historic site with a short nature trail through fields and woods. It is a good picture of the old field and stone wall landscape that still shapes many Derry lots.
Get directions to Robert Frost Farm State Historic Site (opens Google Maps in a new tab)A lake of roughly 137 acres ringed by year-round homes along roads like North Shore Road. Lots here sit inside the state protected shoreland, where stump and root removal near the water is restricted.
Get directions to Beaver Lake (opens Google Maps in a new tab)A large pond shared by Derry, Hampstead and Atkinson, listed by the state as impaired for phosphorus and cyanobacteria. Shoreline erosion control and vegetated buffers matter for any clearing near its banks.
Get directions to Big Island Pond (opens Google Maps in a new tab)A rail trail on the former Portsmouth branch line that crosses Derry. Properties that back onto the corridor often have overgrown edges and limited equipment access from the trail side.
Get directions to Rockingham Recreational Trail (opens Google Maps in a new tab)Photos from our crew's jobs across New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
For a small yard expansion, usually not. Larger projects can need a state Alteration of Terrain permit, a wetlands permit, or town review under Derry's Wetlands Conservation Overlay District. We help spot those questions early so you can confirm with the town and NHDES.
Not without checking the buffers first. State law restricts work in wetlands and banks, and Derry protects prime wetlands with a 150-foot buffer. We work to the limits shown on your plan or flagged in the field.
We grind or pull stumps depending on what the site needs next, and haul brush, logs and debris away with our trucks and trailers. If you want firewood or chips left behind, tell us at the quote.
If timber from your land will be sold, New Hampshire requires the owner to file a Notice of Intent to Cut with the Derry assessors before cutting starts. Ask the assessing office about your situation.
Yes. Along with clearing we do stump removal and rough grading with our track loaders and mini excavator, so the builder or excavation contractor starts with an open, level work area.
See every town we cover on our service areas page.
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