Tree clearing technique?

I've got a couple of pasture hillsides that have been left to grow up to cedar trees (eastern red cedar) for decades. They're dense enough that nothing grows underneath and the hillside is fairly steep.
The only tool I have is a D6c with an open brush guard.
They push out easy but the problem is having enough room to move and get the downed trees out of the way.

Erosion is a consideration....thought I might cut some lanes through the cedars this fall, seed them down and then do some more clearing next summer after I got some grass established.

A while back I ran across an army manual on clearing techniques in dense growth but I've lost track of it.
I'm considering buying a rake for this and other small tree clearing but haven't pulled the trigger on that yet.
An excavator would probably be a better tool but I have to use what I have.

Any advice on how to go about it?

Thanks

When I was clearing the smaller stuff with my skid loader, I could "hook" the small brush
at the base (maybe 2"-3" dia) and lift and push, catching it on the sharp bucket edge nicely.

I could rip the whole plant right out, roots and all.

As I progressed, I ran in as far as i could, lifting and rolling it as high as the loader would go,
about 8'-10'.
I would make a line of brush roll, and push in with it comming in around me on the sides,
almost all the way to the back of the machine on both sides.
I would then work this line on both sides until i could do no more, let it dry down for a month or
so, and repeat.
I borrowed a komatsu and then a dresser dozer (both 8' blade jd450 size) and worked
a steep hillside down that way, working from the top. I could of course rip up 8"-10" dia.
trees this way, raise blade about a foot, push over tree maybe 45 degrees, back up drop blade
to ground (or slightly high) hook root ball, and push in and lift at same time.

I did the least damage that way, erosion on that hillside was a major concern,
but it did not materialize.

How about a couple of pictures, I'm interested in what you're working with.

What is the soil type? With a dozer everything is going to get ripped up. Cutting some horizontal lanes and getting vegetation sounds smart. Green waste will pile up everywhere... Another alternative is a chain saw or super brush mower/mulcher. This thing has always amazed me. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClVUK7Sj4t0 I have used a reg flow Diamond Mower and was impressed on how much and what I could do.

We get the cedars here too. Like a weed... When all the irrigators went in during the high crop prices guys were clearing everything to get more coverage. Most used a chainsaw on the steep slopes due to the sandy soil and sprayed the stumps.

DoyleX.
I was extra carefull, and the blade never really went under the surface, so the bare ground was
pretty much just where the tree root ball was. But yes, it was tedious, and too easy to rip up
the surrounding grass.

I like that mulching head you posted, the local Bobcat dealer rents out a drum type, and while
I have never seen it run, it seems to be in (my neighbors) weld shop allot.
I have not heard any feedback on how good/bad it works.

D6c10K said:

I've got a couple of pasture hillsides that have been left to grow up to cedar trees (eastern red cedar) for decades. They're dense enough that nothing grows underneath and the hillside is fairly steep.
The only tool I have is a D6c with an open brush guard.
They push out easy but the problem is having enough room to move and get the downed trees out of the way.

Erosion is a consideration....thought I might cut some lanes through the cedars this fall, seed them down and then do some more clearing next summer after I got some grass established.

A while back I ran across an army manual on clearing techniques in dense growth but I've lost track of it.
I'm considering buying a rake for this and other small tree clearing but haven't pulled the trigger on that yet.
An excavator would probably be a better tool but I have to use what I have.

Any advice on how to go about it?

Thanks

Click to expand...

I know where there are free plans to build your own Root Rake

I got the clearing done on the flat ground next to a drainage ditch which was the most important area. Have a bad Canadian thistle problem and couldn't get a mower or sprayer in there to get control of them. By the time the flat ground was cleared it was pretty much bare dirt. Had tons of hedge trees, boxelder, and dead elms.

The hillsides have very little top soil and below that is yellow clay so it's very prone to erosion. I have enough trouble with the cattle making paths straight up & down the hills. To get access to the low ground I cut a couple of lanes through the cedar trees. I ended up chainsawing most all of it so I wouldn't tear it up so much. It's permanent pasture so it doesn't matter if I cut them off low and leave the stumps.

I'll be out there tomorrow so I'll try to get some pics.

DoyleX,
That's a heck of a mulcher.....haven't seen one like that. The ones I've seen are the horizontal drum type. Would take a heck of a hydraulic pump to power one of those but it would make quick work of it, although I'm not sure you could feed a cedar tree in like that with their 3" limbs running all the way to the ground.

You might try a string of cable chokers to pull them out. You can pull them out in batches and drag them where you want them. It's a little bit of exercise climbing up and down, but you can lay them in nice piles.

ok, so these trees are about what size and have no value? not for mulch or paper?

stumpjumper83 said:

ok, so these trees are about what size and have no value? not for mulch or paper?

Click to expand...

The trees are about 12" and smaller. While some larger tree make good lumber, around here red cedar are considered a weed tree. They'll take over a piece of ground and grow so thick that cattle can't get through and nothing grows underneath. About 10 years ago I cleared about 15 acres by chainsawing....today you can't tell I did anything and it needs clearing again.

Unless you have some way to chip the trees the brush piles get to be a problem. I've got 10-15 piles around the farm that need to be burned but it's not always easy to find days where you don't have a risk of fire spreading.

I did some business with a very smart old man that exported wood overseas to be made into ikea furniture and lumber liquidator flooring. It seemed like no matter the type of wood or byproduct he had a market for it somewhere in the world. Trash to treasure?

D6c10K said:

I've got 10-15 piles around the farm that need to be burned but it's not always easy to find days where you don't have a risk of fire spreading.

Click to expand...

Tarp them with a cheap tarp, burn when the ground is covered in snow....

id be selling them for chips, mulch or owb fuel... unless they were back in the sticks and hard to get a truck to, then id torch um. dig a big hole, hook a blower to um and watch

i just did a area like you describe........i just did windrows of downed trees......i started pushing in a herringbone pattern all i could from one direction then pushed the same from the other directions with a pile in the middle....ended up with several long windrows of brush.....when i burnt them i would just go a push a break in the windrow for a firestop so i didnt get more burning than i could handle at a time....worked like a charm