Clearing house lots and wooded acreage where wetland and watershed overlay districts set the rules.
We clear land in Windham for builders preparing house lots, homeowners adding a driveway, pool 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. We can grind stumps in place or pull them, depending on the plan for the lot.
Call (603) 438-6492 or use Get a Quote with the lot address and what the land needs to be ready for. We are family owned, fully insured and have 12 years of experience. Read how it works on our land clearing page, or see our work next door in Londonderry.
Windham has seen fast residential growth next to wetlands, brooks and two large water bodies, and the town layers its own overlay districts on top of state rules.
Windham's zoning bars structures and any alteration of the land's surface configuration inside the district unless the Planning Board authorizes it. If a lot has wet ground, the limit of clearing is set by the district boundary, which may need to be marked on the plan.
Within the Watershed Protection Overlay District, development is evaluated so grading and vegetation removal are minimized and erosion controls are installed correctly. No new impervious driveways go within 75 feet of surface water or wetlands, and lot impervious surface is capped at 30 percent. A cleared lot needs a stabilization plan, not just a clearing line.
Lakes and ponds larger than 10 acres are public waters with 250 feet of protected shoreland. Cobbetts Pond is about 302 acres and Canobie Lake sits on the eastern border. Near them, stumps and roots stay in the ground within 50 feet of the water, and vegetation in the first 150 feet has to be kept within state limits.
Windham grew from 13,592 residents in 2010 to 15,817 in 2020 and still has large areas of undeveloped land. That means many jobs are clearing a wooded lot for a first house or a new driveway, with neighbors on both sides and wetlands somewhere on the parcel.
Beaver Brook forms the western border, and the town drains to the Merrimack River watershed, with the east side draining toward the Spicket River. Access roads for clearing machines often have to cross small streams or drainage, which can bring state wetland permitting into the plan.
Clearing a lot in Windham can touch state and town rules. These are the ones we flag 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 on improved, developed or subdivided land exceeds 50,000 square feet (RSA 483-B:9, V(d) (opens in a new tab)). Lakes and ponds over 10 acres are public waters (RSA 483-B:4 (opens in a new tab)).
Wetlands. A state permit is required to excavate, remove, fill or construct in or on a bank, flat, marsh or swamp adjacent to state waters (RSA 482-A:3 (opens in a new tab)).
Town districts. Windham's Wetland and Watershed Protection District (Section 601) permits no structure and no alteration of the land's surface configuration except as authorized by approval. The Watershed Protection Overlay District (Section 616) sets rules such as minimized grading and vegetation removal, erosion controls and a 30 percent impervious cap (Town of Windham checklist (opens in a new tab)). Windham's Community Development office can tell you which districts cover your parcel.
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)).
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 482-A:3, Excavating and dredging permit; NH RSA 79:10, Notice of intent to cut; Town of Windham: Wetland & Watershed Permits Checklist (Zoning Sections 601 and 616)
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 light clearing of shrubs and small trees, $2,500 to $4,500 for moderate clearing, and $4,500 to $8,000 for dense vegetation with large trees. HomeGuide also notes that a land survey runs $500 to $1,500 or more, which some permit reviews require. These are national reference ranges, not our prices. We price land clearing after seeing the lot. For brush and 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.
A pond of about 302 acres east of the town center, ringed by a mix of seasonal cottages and year-round homes. Anything over 10 acres counts as public water under state law, so land within 250 feet of the pond is protected shoreland with limits on stump and vegetation removal.
Get directions to Cobbetts Pond (opens Google Maps in a new tab)A lake on Windham's eastern border shared with Salem. Like Cobbetts Pond it is large enough to be public water, so shoreland rules apply to lots near its edge.
Get directions to Canobie Lake (opens Google Maps in a new tab)A level, paved 4.1-mile trail for walking and biking that runs from Windham into Derry. It follows a former rail corridor through town, and private lots beside it keep their own boundaries and brush lines.
Get directions to Windham Rail Trail (opens Google Maps in a new tab)A manor completed in 1915 by collector Edward Francis Searles and now rented for events, one of Windham's best-known landmarks. It sits in a town that has grown quickly, from 13,592 residents in 2010 to 15,817 in 2020.
Get directions to Searles Castle (opens Google Maps in a new tab)Photos from our crew's jobs across New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
A survey or site plan should show the Wetland and Watershed Protection District boundary. If you do not have one, ask Windham Community Development before clearing, because altering the land's surface inside the district needs authorization.
The study requirement in the town's checklist applies to development applications in the Watershed Protection Overlay District, not to every clearing job. Whether your project is in that district and how it is classified is a question for the town.
No. Within 50 feet of the water, stumps and roots stay in place and vegetation removal is tightly limited. Out to 150 feet, state shoreland rules still govern how much natural woodland remains. We map the distances before setting the work line.
If the clearing produces timber, the owner files a notice of intent to cut with the town's assessing officials before cutting starts. Starting before it is filed and signed is a violation, so ask the town early.
Yes. We haul logs and debris off site with our trucks and trailers, grind stumps in place or pull them, and can mulch brush where it makes sense. Tell us if you want firewood left.
See every town we cover on our service areas page.
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