Logistics for clearing fallen/dead and small trees

adocholiday

Hi all,

I have a 'forest garden' I guess is the best way to describe it. Approx. 1.5 acres on a mix of gradients. The trees are all Scots Pine I think - tall thin trees with leaves only on the upper third for the most part.

It is a very mature little area of forest, it was there long before the house was ever built on the site. There is a kind of path through it but it's well overgrown and there are a lot of fallen trees on the slopes and small trees that are dead or never going to really mature. I'd like to clear the path and a couple of little clearings, leaving only the mature trees. It'll only ever be used as a garden.

My question really is what are the logistics for clearing this in terms of licences or permits etc? The vast majority of what I want to cut has fallen already or is completely or partially uprooted, and none have a trunk any thicker than maybe an 8-10 inch diameter.

Any advice would be most appreciated.

lalababa

Hire/buy chainsaw and bate into it!

Donald Trump

Might want to make sure you know how to handle a chainsaw before hiring one to bate into anything

Track9

If you cud get use of chainsaw ,chop down any trees & cut fallen wood into short lengths it wud be easy to handle & move.I wud rent a decent size chipper & pulverise a lot of the branches & brasch.Plenty heavy duty plastic bags & car trailer wud close things off nicely & one can do at ones own speed.any thing too bulky I wud use mini digger & bury on site.That worked for me.

timfromtang

adocholiday wrote: »

Hi all,

I have a 'forest garden' I guess is the best way to describe it. Approx. 1.5 acres on a mix of gradients. The trees are all Scots Pine I think - tall thin trees with leaves only on the upper third for the most part.

It is a very mature little area of forest, it was there long before the house was ever built on the site. There is a kind of path through it but it's well overgrown and there are a lot of fallen trees on the slopes and small trees that are dead or never going to really mature. I'd like to clear the path and a couple of little clearings, leaving only the mature trees. It'll only ever be used as a garden.

My question really is what are the logistics for clearing this in terms of licences or permits etc? The vast majority of what I want to cut has fallen already or is completely or partially uprooted, and none have a trunk any thicker than maybe an 8-10 inch diameter.

Any advice would be most appreciated.

As far As i know, since you are leaving the mature trees and since it is a garden close to a house, there are no permitting or licensing issues to deal with.
tim

Large bottle small glass

It is difficult to give a proper answer to OP without knowing his experience with chainsaws, tree felling and general grunt work.

Felling trees in a wood without essential gear, such as a felling bar, and know how good result in a serious mishap pretty easily. Knowing what part of tree is in compression/tension are essential in knowing where to cut and how tree will behave when you do. Befriend an experienced person maybe! YouTube probably has loads of stuff.

There is, not cheap, courses available

Assuming you have tools and skillset I'd be inclined to clean trees in wood and haul out the limbs only. Make a few heaps of branches; the 1000s of critters that inhabit our woods will thank you.

If you make a clearing, try and get wild flowers to grow early on, because something will fill that vacuum.

I have my own forestry and take felling licence very seriously; if I was in your position my only concerns would be quality of my work and doing in safely.

adocholiday

Hi all,

OP here sorry for late reply I thought this thread had died.

I have a small chainsaw (16" if I remember correctly) and it's grand for clearing anything I've had to tackle so far. All I've cut at this point is already fallen trees. Having been at it on and off a few weeks now it seems that the vast majority of what needs cutting are very thin trees that never really got going. I don't think I've to worry too much about tension etc. felling those. Anything mature will be staying where it is for now at least. I've just been using YouTube for instructions so far and a friendly neighbour who is experienced.

The biggest headache so far is getting the wood cleared. I've been chopping it where I cut it, but the branches and foliage are becoming a real issue just with the amount of it. I've been making piles but there are a lot of them now. Dealing with that is the biggest issue.

Thanks for all of the input, much appreciated!