Clearing house lots, additions and wooded acreage in the Souhegan Valley, with the river and brook buffers marked first.
We clear land in Milford for builders, homeowners planning a driveway, addition or garage, and landowners opening up 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 you plan to build.
Call (603) 438-6492 or use Get a Quote with the lot address, a rough acreage and what you want the land ready for. We are family owned, fully insured and have 12 years of experience. Our land clearing page explains the process, and work in nearby Amherst follows the same approach.
Milford is a 25-square-mile town with a river through the middle, brooks to the southwest and hills to the west. Those features decide where a clearing line can go.
The Souhegan is a state-designated river through Milford, so the land within 250 feet of the bank is protected shoreland. Clearing there is limited to smaller areas, stumps and roots stay in the ground within 50 feet of the water, and a state terrain permit applies once a contiguous disturbed area on developed land passes 50,000 square feet.
Milford's wetland ordinance protects streams, ponds, wetlands and buffers around them. Named brooks such as Mitchell, Spaulding, Great and Purgatory get wider buffers, and impacts above a set size go to the Zoning Board of Adjustment for a special exception. The clearing line on a lot with wet ground is set by the buffer, not the property line.
The town rises to 814 feet near its western border. Clearing on a slope means staging machines on stable ground, keeping bare soil from washing downhill, and planning where logs and stumps can be piled and loaded out.
The southwest corner of Milford drains through Mitchell and Spaulding Brooks toward the Nashua River watershed. Ground near brooks stays wetter, and soft soil limits when heavy machines can work without rutting. Frozen or dry ground is easier on the site, so timing is part of the plan.
Lots near the town center have close neighbors and limited room to stage equipment. We plan where trucks and trailers load so debris leaves the site quickly instead of piling up for weeks.
Clearing a lot can trigger state and town rules. These are the ones we look for with you.
Alteration of Terrain. RSA 485-A:17 (opens in a new tab) requires a NHDES permit for work that significantly alters terrain in a way that impedes natural runoff or creates unnatural runoff. In protected shoreland, a permit under that section is required when a contiguous disturbed area exceeds 50,000 square feet on improved, developed or subdivided land (RSA 483-B:9, V(d) (opens in a new tab)). The Souhegan is a designated river (RSA 483:15 (opens in a new tab)) and public water (RSA 483-B:4 (opens in a new tab)).
Wetlands. No one may excavate, remove, fill or construct in or on a bank, flat, marsh or swamp adjacent to state waters without a permit (RSA 482-A:3 (opens in a new tab)). Milford also runs a Wetland Conservation District, where impacts beyond listed exempt uses can need a special exception from the Zoning Board of Adjustment, with Conservation Commission review (ordinance text (opens in a new tab), dated 2003; confirm the current version with Community Development).
Intent to Cut. If clearing produces timber, the owner files a notice of intent to cut with the town's assessing officials before cutting begins (RSA 79:10 (opens in a new tab)). Starting before the notice is filed and signed is a violation, so ask the assessing office early.
This is general guidance, not legal advice. We help you identify when a permit question exists so you can confirm it with the town or NHDES.
Sources: NH RSA 485-A:17, Terrain Alteration; NH RSA 483-B:9, shoreland minimum standards; NH RSA 483-B:4, shoreland definitions (public waters); NH RSA 483:15, designated rivers (Souhegan River); NH RSA 482-A:3, Excavating and dredging permit; NH RSA 79:10, Notice of intent to cut; Milford Conservation Commission: Wetland Conservation District ordinance text
HomeGuide (opens in a new tab) puts national land clearing averages at about $1,200 to $8,000 per acre: roughly $1,200 to $2,500 for shrubs, underbrush and small trees, $2,500 to $4,500 for thicker growth and medium trees, and $4,500 to $8,000 for dense vegetation with large trees. Grading for a small home site is listed separately at about $2,000 to $5,000 on mostly level land and far more on rocky ground. These are national reference ranges, not our prices. Land clearing has too many variables for a calculator, so we price it after looking at the lot. If part of the job is brush or small trees, our forestry mulching cost calculator gives a rough starting point.
Cost references: HomeGuide: Land Clearing Cost
A few places locals know, and what they mean for outdoor work nearby.
The river that drains most of Milford; the town takes its name from a mill built at a ford on it. State law designates the Souhegan as a protected river through Milford, so land within 250 feet of the water falls under shoreland rules that limit stump and vegetation removal near the bank.
Get directions to Souhegan River (opens Google Maps in a new tab)The triangular town green and traffic rotary at the junction of Routes 13 and 101A, with the Pillsbury Bandstand and the Souhegan River behind it. Streets around the center have close-set houses and small lots that call for compact equipment and debris screens.
Get directions to The Oval (Union Square) (opens Google Maps in a new tab)About 270 acres the town bought in 2000 for community uses that include recreation, open space, trails and natural resource protection. It is a reminder of how much open, wooded ground sits near Milford's developed areas, where wetland and buffer questions come up on adjoining lots.
Get directions to Brox Community Land (opens Google Maps in a new tab)A roughly 3-mile trail that runs from Route 13 in Milford toward Brookline along a former rail corridor. The trail leaves the railroad right-of-way south of Armory Road and crosses private land, a reminder to know where a lot line sits before any clearing.
Get directions to Granite Town Rail Trail (opens Google Maps in a new tab)Photos from our crew's jobs across New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
Within 50 feet of the bank, state shoreland rules keep stumps and roots in place and limit how much vegetation comes out. Out to 250 feet, other limits apply and a state permit is needed once a contiguous disturbed area passes 50,000 square feet. We map the distances with you before planning a clearing line.
It can. Milford's Wetland Conservation District covers streams, wetlands and the buffers around them, and larger impacts go to the Zoning Board of Adjustment for a special exception. Call Community Development with the lot address before clearing near wet ground.
If the clearing produces timber, the owner files a notice of intent to cut with the town's assessing officials before cutting starts. We can tell you when it is likely to come up, but the filing is the owner's responsibility.
Yes. We remove trees and stumps, haul debris and can grade the cleared area with our track loaders. Larger earth-moving or drainage work may need engineered plans, which we would flag during the quote.
We haul logs and debris off site, grind stumps in place or pull them depending on your plans, and can mulch small brush where it makes sense. Tell us if you want to keep firewood.
See every town we cover on our service areas page.
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