I have a job to clear tag alders growing in clay soil which is pretty well saturated most of the year. The land is low, flat and alongside a river. The area is 5 acres and could go as high as 10. I've cleared a lot of trees and stumps before but never on wet clay. I have a 320 excavator and a 450 jd dozer (not LGP) with a pin on rake available. Also have a backhoe and a couple of small loaders which probably won't be much use unless it really dries up. Instead of jumping right in like I usually do, I thought I would ask here for ideas from anyone who can advise me how to do this efficiently and what needs to be done to keep the darn things from growing back. Should I cut them first and grub out the roots or take out the whole bush/tree (10-15'high) etc. Once the land is cleared will be digging ditches to improve the drainage. A young couple want to build a home here, is that going to be wise or even possible?
My experience with alders is that unless you put in something like grass or such they'll just keep coming back. We cleared a bit of land on our property some years ago, and of course the alders sprouted all over the place, then about 3 or 4 years ago I went in there and pulled them all out, roots and all, they were about 10-15 feet high and 2 to 3 inches in diameter by then. Now I'll get to do it again really soon........ They just grow like weeds. They are good for firewood though, and also when they get bigger they can fetch a pretty penny from furniture companies, we had some that were about 30 to 40 years old and up to 2 feet in diameter with the odd one pusing 3 feet, sold 13 loads and by the time everything was all said and done (faller, skidder, trucker paid for) we ended up with about $30K in our pockets... How far from any kind of river is the building site? I would encourage them to look into the 100 and 200 year flood levels, they might be in for a nasty surprise... They may end up having to raise up the ground substantially as part of their building permit. Years ago my dad and I started building a new house on our property and we had to build up about 4 feet whereas our existing house was on the existing grade, then in 2003 we got hit by a flood and it all made sense. Our existing house didn't get flooded but had the river come up just 3 or 4 inches more we would have. All just things to consider... I think your best bet for clearing the trees will be the 320 provided it has a thumb, that way, just grab hold of the trees, yank 'em out and pile 'em up. That's how I dealt with ours the last time, just had a 303 but it worked well. Just be very careful you don't get stuck! Good luck!
Clearing on wet ground, we do it all with an excavator, start on the outside where its dryer and lay down the trees, track ahead on the trees as you go, and when you have all the tree's out, pick them up as you back out. Try to level the ground as best you can as you back out as you pick up the tree's. I have no idea what laws you have to work with there or what the terrain looks like, but here we'd tile the ground, then start landscaping to build up a higher elevation to build the house on, but that totally depend on the law and how the permits state had to be done. As for why, I'd try to persuade the owner to pick a better location to build on and use this area for something to "view" wildlife at, rather than spending the money it'll take build on, but that's between you and your customer to hash over. As far as can it be done, the answer is simple, with enough cash and time, anything can be done.