Professional forestry mulching services in Falmouth, Maine

Serving Falmouth, Maine

Forestry Mulching in Falmouth, Maine

Brush, lot and trail clearing from the Casco Bay shore to Highland Lake and the Presumpscot River, planned around Falmouth's shoreland rules.

Veteran Owned

Erosion-Control Focused

Fully Insured

Clearing Land in Falmouth

Falmouth reaches from the Casco Bay shore to rural land farther inland. On the bay, Town Landing sits at the end of Town Landing Road, off Foreside Road. Mackworth Island, about 100 acres, was given to the State of Maine by Governor Percival Baxter and is joined to Falmouth by a causeway at the mouth of the Presumpscot River. Walton Park and Presumpscot Falls Park sit along the river itself. Inland are Highland Lake, 640 acres shared with Westbrook and Windham, and the town's Blackstrap Hill Community Forest.

Between the shore and the lake, forestry mulching suits work like clearing a wooded house lot, opening a walking trail, cutting back brush that has crept over a yard or field edge, and thinning thick undergrowth. One machine does the cutting and the grinding, and the chips stay on the ground as a mulch layer, with no brush to truck away.

The Rules Where You Live

Falmouth's shoreland zone covers land within 250 feet of designated great ponds, rivers and salt water, the upland edge of coastal wetlands, and non-forested freshwater wetlands of 10 acres or more. It also reaches 100 feet from designated streams and brooks, where Maine's minimum is 75 feet. The town asks anyone planning to remove or limb trees or clear vegetation in the zone to call the office first, because a shoreland zone permit, and possibly Planning Board approval, will likely be needed.

The town's ordinance sets Falmouth's exact clearing limits. Maine's minimum standards, which a town can make stricter, include:

A buffer strip 100 feet deep along great ponds and the rivers that flow into them, and generally 75 feet along other waters and wetlands.
No opening in the forest canopy larger than 250 square feet, and plants under three feet tall left in the buffer.
No more than 40% of the volume of trees 4 inches and up removed in any ten years.
Outside the buffer, clearing can't top 25% of the lot or 10,000 square feet, whichever is greater.

Before any work near the water, we check with Falmouth's Code Enforcement office on what applies to your lot. This is general information, not legal advice.

Who to Call in Falmouth

Falmouth Code Enforcement(opens in a new tab)
Town Hall, 271 Falmouth Road
falmouthme.org
Falmouth Shoreland Zoning Info(opens in a new tab)
Zone distances and when to call before cutting
falmouthme.org
Maine DEP shoreland clearing standards(opens in a new tab)
The state's minimum rules for cutting near water
maine.gov

Falmouth Questions

Do I need a permit to cut trees near the water in Falmouth?

Likely, if the trees are in the shoreland zone. The town says that if you're planning to remove or limb trees or clear vegetation there, you should stop and call the office first, because you'll likely need a shoreland zone permit and possibly Planning Board approval. The zone reaches 250 feet from great ponds, rivers and salt water, and 100 feet from designated streams. We're glad to help you make that call.

We're on Highland Lake. Can you open up a view?

Within limits, and only once the town has weighed in. Highland Lake is a 640-acre lake shared with Westbrook and Windham. Maine's minimum standards keep a 100-foot buffer along great ponds, with no canopy opening over 250 square feet and the low plants left standing, and Falmouth's own rules can go further. Careful thinning inside those limits is how a view gets opened. We don't clear-cut shorelines.

A brook runs through my land. Does the shoreland zone apply?

It can. Falmouth's shoreland zone reaches 100 feet from the normal high-water line of designated streams and brooks, which is farther than the 75 feet Maine sets as the minimum. So brush or lot clearing near a brook may need the same call to Code Enforcement as work by the lake or the bay. Once the town tells us where the line falls on your lot, we plan the job around it.

How We Work

One machine, no hauling. The mulcher grinds brush and small trees into mulch that stays on site as ground cover.
Erosion control planned in. Near water and on slopes, we plan around Maine's erosion and sedimentation control practices and confirm the local rules before work begins.
A remote-controlled mulcher for steep slopes and sensitive spots, so the operator can work from a distance.

Falmouth Forestry Mulching Pricing

Most residential Falmouth projects fall between $2,000 and $3,000. Every lot is different, so the final cost comes down to how much you're clearing, the type of growth, the slope, and how close the work is to your house or the water.

Lighter jobs run less, bigger or tougher ones run more. Quotes are always free with no hidden fees, and you'll have the exact number before we start.