Professional forestry mulching services in Hollis, Maine

Serving Hollis, Maine

Forestry Mulching in Hollis, Maine

Woodlot, lot and trail clearing from Bar Mills and Salmon Falls to Hollis Center, planned around the town's shoreland tree permit and the Saco River rules.

Veteran Owned

Erosion-Control Focused

Fully Insured

Clearing Land in Hollis

Hollis lies along the west bank of the Saco River, with Buxton across the water. Bar Mills and Salmon Falls sit on both banks, and the town's comprehensive plan says the stepped falls between today's Bonny Eagle and Skelton dams inspired the name Little Falls Plantation. The town also includes Hollis Center and North Hollis, and the plan names the area around Killick Pond among its most valuable natural areas. By the plan's count, trees covered close to 80 percent of the town.

With that much woodland, forestry mulching fits jobs like thinning a wooded lot, clearing room for a house or garden, opening a trail, and reclaiming brushy field edges. One machine grinds brush and small trees in place, and the mulch stays as ground cover, not a pile to deal with.

The Rules Where You Live

Shoreland tree work in Hollis goes through the Code Enforcement Office, which has its own Shoreland Zone Tree Removal Permit application. The form asks for a site plan divided into 25-by-50-foot grids, and it tells you to notify the Code Officer at least 24 hours before any tree removal.

The first rule below is from that form. The rest are Maine's minimums, which Hollis can make stricter:

The form requires a letter from a Maine licensed arborist, stating the tree is a safety hazard, if removing it would leave its grid under 16 points (scored by trunk size). Next to great ponds, Maine's minimum is 24 points.
Maine's minimum buffer strip: 100 feet along great ponds (and rivers draining into them), and in general 75 feet along other waters and wetlands.
In that buffer, keep canopy openings to 250 square feet or less, take no more than 40% of the volume of trees 4 inches and up in 10 years, and leave ground cover under 3 feet.
Past the buffer, cleared openings top out at 25% of the lot or 10,000 square feet, whichever is greater.

Saco River corridor

Hollis belongs to the Saco River Corridor Commission (SRCC), and the town's tree removal form notes that property by the Saco needs an additional SRCC permit. Its corridor runs 500 feet back from the Saco, widening to as much as 1,000 feet where the 100-year floodplain extends past that. Inside it, the SRCC keeps a 75-foot no-cut zone along the shore and rules out cutting trees for a view.

We confirm with the town, and with the SRCC on riverfront lots, what applies before work near water. This is general information, not legal advice.

Who to Call in Hollis

Hollis Code Enforcement(opens in a new tab)
34 Town Farm Road
hollismaine.org
Shoreland Zone Tree Removal Permit(opens in a new tab)
The town's application form
hollismaine.org
Hollis Ordinances(opens in a new tab)
Shoreland zoning and zoning ordinances
hollismaine.org
Saco River Corridor Commission(opens in a new tab)
The added permit for land by the Saco, 207-625-8123
srcc-maine.org

Hollis Questions

Do I need a permit to take down trees near the water in Hollis?

Check with the town before any cutting. Hollis has a Shoreland Zone Tree Removal Permit application through the Code Enforcement Office, with a site plan in 25-by-50-foot grids, and it wants 24 hours' notice before any tree removal. If the property is by the Saco River, the form notes that you'll need an SRCC permit too.

How does the point system on the Hollis tree form work?

Trees are scored by diameter 4 1/2 feet above the ground, from 1 point for a tree 2 to just under 4 inches across up to 8 points for one 12 inches or more. If removing a tree would leave its 25-by-50-foot grid under 16 points, the form calls for a letter from a Maine licensed arborist saying the tree is a safety hazard.

Can you cut a path down to the Saco from my land?

Within limits. The SRCC allows a six-foot-wide, natural, meandering pathway by permit, but it keeps a 75-foot no-cut zone along the shore and won't allow trees to be cut for a view. So plan on a narrow, winding path, not an open bank. Get the SRCC permit first, as it advises, and check the town's tree rules too.

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.

Hollis Forestry Mulching Pricing

Most residential Hollis 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.