Clearing wooded land in North Carolina usually involves removing trees, costly stump removal, raking, grading and seeding the land and more. In general, clearing land costs $3,000 – $5,000 per acre.
Reasons for clearing land:
There are many reasons people clear land in Chatham County and other parts of North Carolina. The most common reasons are:
- Clearing land to build a home
- Clearing land to build a barn
- Clearing land for cultivation and farming
- Clearing land for grazing and livestock
Costs to clear land:
Tree removal:
A lot of people think that they can just call a timber company who will come chop down the trees and pay them. A lot of people are also surprised to discover that the timber guys get excited about 100+ acre tracts. If you have 5 acres or so that you need cleared, the timber companies are not going to be very interested. If you plan to bulldoze and burn your trees you will need a burn permit.
Stump removal options:
You can bury stumps, however, you should know that as the stumps deteriorate, the land will sink. This is a slow process, so you will not be able to build on that area of land in your lifetime. The quickest way to get rid of stumps is to take them to a stump dump. Stumps can also be burned.
Raking, grading, seeding:
The land will need to be raked to get any large stones and sticks off of it. You will likely want the land graded. You will probably want to seed the land once it is cleared. If you will have grazing animals on the land, you may want to wait at least 1 year until the root system has developed from the grass so that animals and other livestock doesn’t turn your freshly cleared land into a mud pit. In some cases, you may need an erosion control plan.
