Question: Clearing Developable Land/Forest in NH

[Andrew Stuckey]

Hey everyone,

I am looking for advice and ideally a prioritized list of action items for clearing forest on the land to make buildable lots. It is not my property. I am assisting the owner with the overall vision for the land. They are considering placing homes on the land that could be used for a variety of short-term renters and need to clear and prep some of the land for building. We were thinking of trying a Honomobo product on the land too. 

About the location: the property is roughly 20 acres located near Henniker New Hampshire, about 90 minutes driving from Boston, close to a popular winter ski area and summer camping and vacationing area. 

Some of the questions I have include:

To clear some of the land, should the owner sell the timber on the land to clear it or just pay to clear it? Pros and cons?

What type of company would you typically contact to clear the land and make the buildable areas? Any recommendations for NH in particular? 

Any specific considerations when hiring this type of company and hiring for this type of job?


Any NH specific recommendations for: timber companies or mills, creating roads, connecting utilities, surveying and marking land boundaries?

Any NH specific recommendations for architects, contractors and builders familiar with building in forested area? Looking to build foundations, decks, possibly some structure and/or cabins. 

Thank you!

[Brian Dano]

@Andrew Stuckey I do some land development. It depends on what type of trees you have and their ages, but yes generally I would recommend having a forester take some trees, get some money coming in. Then think about sand and gravel companies may have interest in the ledge and sand on the property. They can deliver the property to you cleared as they want the raw material. Site work (getting utilities, connecting to town sewer if available, making roads) is expensive but I do believe Henniker has Town Sewer.