Land Clearing & Site Prep
Clear brush, trees, and stumps and get your lot ready to build.
Clearing more than 5,000 square feet of ground in New Jersey, about an eighth of an acre, makes the work a project under the Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Act, N.J.S.A. 4:24-39 et seq., and requires a plan certified by the county Soil Conservation District. Two exclusions come first: the Act covers clearing or grading for other than agricultural or horticultural purposes, and a single-family dwelling not part of a subdivision, site plan, variance, planned development or a group of two or more homes. Disturbance is defined broadly enough to take in stockpiling and transporting soil, not just the cut itself. Two overlays cover this whole region: the Highlands spans 88 municipalities across Bergen, Hunterdon, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex and Warren counties, and freshwater wetlands transition areas extend up to 150 feet beyond the wetland.
Want that answered for your property instead of in general? Call 862-268-2510 or get a free on-site estimate. We will tell you straight, including when the answer is that you do not need us.
Before anything gets built, the land has to be cleared and prepped. We clear brush, trees, and stumps, grub and grade the site, and haul off the debris so your lot is ready for the next step, whether that is a build, a driveway, or open space.
How we do it
We walk the land first and mark what stays, because clearing is as much about what you keep as what goes. Then the equipment does the heavy lifting: brush mulched or hauled, trees dropped and processed, stumps grubbed out with the roots instead of ground off and left to rot.
The finish is what separates clearing from wrecking: holes filled, the ground graded smooth, and the land ready for hay, pasture, a building pad, or just a view you forgot you had.
What's included
- Brush and tree clearing
- Stump removal and grubbing
- Site grading and prep
- Debris hauling and removal
- Rough grading
- Residential and commercial lots
Just one stump in a finished yard? A grinder beats an excavator, and any tree service can handle it. Need a name? Stump N' Grind in Sussex County is one we can vouch for.
Land Clearing: what people ask us
Do you haul the debris away or chip it on site?
Either one. We can chip brush back into the woods, haul everything off site, or split the difference. It is your land and your call, and we price both ways.
Can overgrown land really go back to being a hay field or pasture?
Yes. Clearing, grubbing the roots, grading, and a season of care is how farmland that sat idle for years goes back to work. It is some of our favorite work in the farm townships.
Do I need a permit to clear my land in New Jersey?
Usually yes, and it catches people out. Disturbing more than 5,000 square feet, roughly an eighth of an acre, makes the work a project under the Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Act, which needs a plan certified by your county Soil Conservation District. There are two real exclusions: clearing or grading for agricultural or horticultural purposes, and building a single-family dwelling that is not part of a subdivision, site plan, variance or a permit covering two or more homes. Check which side of that line you are on before you assume either way, because wetlands, the Highlands rules and town ordinances can still apply.
What actually counts as disturbance?
The statute defines it broadly: clearing, excavating, storing, grading, filling or transporting soil, or any other activity that exposes soil to the danger of erosion. So stockpiles, drainage work and the tracks the machines cut getting to the work area all count, not just the acreage you picture as the job. That is why the threshold gets crossed on projects that feel small.
I am in Sussex or Warren County. Do the Highlands rules hit me?
Check before anything gets cut. The Highlands region covers 88 municipalities across Bergen, Hunterdon, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex and Warren, which is our entire service area, and about 398,000 acres of it sits in the stricter Preservation Area. Inside that, work disturbing an acre or more can qualify as Major Highlands Development and NJDEP enters the approval path.
There is wet ground on the lot. Does that change things?
It can change everything, so it is worth settling first. Freshwater wetlands transition areas run up to 150 feet beyond the wetland itself, and excavating, filling and grading inside them is regulated. Finding that out before a machine is booked is a great deal cheaper than after.
What New Jersey actually requires
Most of the surprises on this kind of job are regulatory, not mechanical. Here is what binds the work in our counties, with the state sources so you can read them yourself.
| What | What it means for your project |
|---|---|
| Soil Erosion and Sediment Control plan | Disturb more than 5,000 square feet, about an eighth of an acre, and the work is a “project” under the Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Act, which needs a plan certified by your county Soil Conservation District. The district has 30 days to grant or deny it. Most real clearing jobs cross that line several times over. |
| Two exclusions worth checking first | The Act defines a project as clearing or grading “for other than agricultural or horticultural purposes”, so genuinely agricultural work sits outside it. And building a single-family dwelling is not a project unless it is part of a subdivision, site plan, conditional use, zoning variance, planned development, or a permit application covering two or more homes. Neither is a loophole to lean on, but both are worth confirming with your district before you assume you need a plan. |
| What counts as disturbance | The statute is broad: clearing, excavating, storing, grading, filling or transporting soil, or any other activity that exposes soil to the danger of erosion. That takes in stockpiles, drainage work and the tracks the machines cut getting to the work area, not just the part you picture as the job. |
| Highlands region | The Highlands covers 88 municipalities across Bergen, Hunterdon, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex and Warren counties, which is our whole territory, and roughly 398,000 acres of it is the stricter Preservation Area. Inside that area, work disturbing an acre or more can qualify as Major Highlands Development, which puts NJDEP in the approval path. |
| Freshwater wetlands | Wetlands transition areas extend up to 150 feet beyond the wetland itself, and excavating, filling and grading inside them is regulated. Wet ground on a lot is worth identifying before a machine is booked, not after. |
Sources: N.J.S.A. 4:24-39 et seq., the NJ Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Act (statute text) · NJ Highlands Council: Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act · NJDEP Watershed & Land Management: Freshwater Wetlands. This is general information, not a ruling on your property. Your county Soil Conservation District and your town have the final say for your address. Every New Jersey threshold in one table →
What it costs
How much does it cost to clear an acre of wooded land in NJ?
$4,000 to $30,000 per acre
If you need one number: around $16,000 per acre.
What moves it:
- What is genuinely on the lot. “Wooded” covers everything from young saplings to mature hardwood, and the two are not the same job.
- Whether the material stays on the property or has to be hauled off. Haul-off is trucking, tipping and time.
- Whether a forestry mulcher runs the job and leaves the chips on site, which is usually the cheaper end.
- Whether the stumps come out. Grinding or pulling stumps is separate work from dropping what is above ground.
- Whether rough grading is part of it, because a cleared lot and a usable lot are different things.
The spread here is the widest on this page for a reason: “wooded land” is vague. Two acres that look identical from the road can be four times apart in price once somebody walks them.
How much does stump removal cost in NJ?
$300 per stump, with an $800 minimum to come to the site
What moves it:
- The number of stumps, because mobilizing the machine is most of the cost on a small job.
- Whether the hole gets backfilled and the stump hauled away, which is not included in that price.
- Access, and whether an excavator can reach the stump at all.
That is for pulling stumps with an excavator. The $800 minimum is what it costs to get a machine to your property, so one stump and two stumps cost the same.
Our ranges in northern New Jersey as of August 2026, not a quote. Every range on the site is on what this work costs.
Land Clearing: the questions behind the job
Do I need a permit to clear land in New Jersey?
Disturb more than 5,000 square feet and the state calls it a project. Here is the threshold, the two exclusions written into the law that people miss, and what the Highlands and wetlands rules add on top.
What Actually Drives Excavation Cost
Excavation for a house runs $15,000 to over $100,000 and usually lands at $50,000 to $60,000. Rock, what you are building on, and whether the site is on city services are what move it. How to read an excavation bid like someone who knows.
Land Clearing: in our customers’ words
“Love the work done and the people who work here. We cleared 1/2 acre of land and it looks perfect. So excited for the grass to grow in and for our kids to play in a bigger yard!”
“I purchased a large property with an old building my insurance required me to tear down. I hired James and his crew and couldn't be more pleased with the results. I'll be going through James for all my future projects.”
Land Clearing across northern & central NJ
We provide land clearing across all 7 counties we serve. A few of the towns we cover:
Ready to get started?
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