Have you been seeing dead trees on your property? They’re easy to spot- interrupting the vista of green canopy with their brown leaves, and lying in wait like matchsticks for next season’s wildfire. At PLUS, we manage the dead trees on your property the right way- creating habitats for wildlife from snags and brush piles, strategically laying dead trunks and limbs in areas prone to erosion, and layering mulch from dead trees to create the perfect environment for new grass and wildflowers to flourish.  Protect your property from wildfires, enhance the enjoyment of your land and cross another wildlife management activity off your list by contacting PLUS today.

PLUS Dead Tree Remediation Options

Hand Clearing

This approach is best for very selective clearing, in sensitive wildlife habitats, or on landscapes where the skid steer or hydro-ax cannot get to the trees, like on steep slopes or hills. It’s also appropriate for larger tree specimens, like oak that require a team of men to remove these heavy trees. The production on this kind of tree remediation is very low and it’s more expensive than the others, but in some instances it’s the only option, or best option given the habitat and/or the landscape.

Skid Steer with Shears

The skid steer with shears is reasonably selective, great for small to medium stature specimens up 24” in diameter and able to cut at ground level, preventing invasive species like cedar from re-growing. The byproduct of this method can be used as erosion breaks and protection for more desirable tree species, and the slash can be used as brush piles to create wildlife habitat for desirable species like quail. Some people don’t like all of the slash that this method creates, and depending on the density the amount of slash can really add up. The production is density dependent, with high density removing 1 to 2acre per day and medium density at 2 to 4 acres/day.

Skid Steer Mounted Hydro-Ax

This 85-100 horsepower machine has a 48” rotary grinding head that removes 12-16 diameter (or less) trees and processes them into mulch at the same time. This method produces landscaping quality mulch on-site, providing excellent ground cover that can be used to create trails, prevent erosion, and improve plant regrowth in an aesthetically pleasing way. The production on high density plots is .5 to 1 acre per day, and 1 to 2 acres per day on medium density plots.

Self-feeding brush chipper

This 200 horsepower machine is great for processing existing brush piles or slash already on the ground. It’s limited to the type of topography on your land, as well as access to slash which needs to be within 20 feet of the machine, but can be a great solution for trees that have dropped limbs or fallen over completely during the drought.

Loader Mounted Hydro-Ax

This 200 horsepower machine has a 72” rotary grinding head, also removing trees and processing them into mulch at the same time. Its mobility is great and is capable of handling very steep grades, as well as any size machine. It produces 2-3” mulch, which can then be used as ground cover on your land to prevent erosion, act as seed bed or lay trails to enhance the recreational use of your land. This machine’s capability to be selective is limited but the production rate is very good at 1-2 acres per day on high-density properties and 2-4 acres per day on medium-density properties.