Professional forestry mulching services in Old Orchard Beach, Maine

Serving Old Orchard Beach, Maine

Forestry Mulching in Old Orchard Beach, Maine

Lot and brush clearing from Ocean Park to Surfside Beach, planned around the dunes, Goosefare Brook and the town's shoreland rules.

Veteran Owned

Erosion-Control Focused

Fully Insured

Clearing Land in Old Orchard Beach

Maine Geological Survey dune maps cover Old Orchard Beach's shore from Ocean Park to Surfside Beach, and the town's shoreland zone reaches seaward to the municipal line. Goosefare Brook has distances of its own in the town's rules. Old Orchard Beach borders only Saco and Scarborough. The Maine Natural Areas Program also places part of the Scarborough Marsh system, which it calls the largest contiguous salt marsh system in Maine, within the town.

Back from the sand, jobs that fit forestry mulching include clearing a wooded house lot before a build, cutting back brush that has crowded a yard and taking out invasive growth along a property line. The mulcher does it alone, grinding the growth where it stands and leaving the mulch behind as ground cover, with no brush pile to haul off.

The Rules Where You Live

Old Orchard Beach's shoreland zone reaches seaward to the town line. On land, it covers:

Everything within 250 feet of rivers, saltwater and the upland edge of coastal and freshwater wetlands.
Goosefare Brook's nontidal stretch: 250 feet below the Boston and Maine Railroad bridge and 100 feet above it.
Other streams: 100 feet, wider than the state's 75-foot minimum.

Clearing inside the zone

Maine's minimum standards keep a 75-foot vegetation buffer along most waters. Inside that buffer, no opening in the tree canopy can be over 250 square feet, removal is capped at 40% of the volume of trees four inches and up in any ten years, and growth under three feet stays in place. Old Orchard Beach's own ordinance can be stricter, and where it is, the stricter rule applies.

Sand dunes

The Maine Geological Survey maps coastal sand dune systems at Ocean Park, West Grand Avenue, East Grand Avenue and Surfside Beach. Maine DEP treats the dune system as a protected natural resource, where removing vegetation takes a DEP permit and is generally not permitted. MGS notes that building projects there usually need permits too.

Before work near the beach, Goosefare Brook or a wetland, we confirm with the town what applies to your lot. This is general information, not legal advice.

Who to Call in Old Orchard Beach

Old Orchard Beach Code Enforcement(opens in a new tab)
1 Portland Avenue
oobmaine.com
Old Orchard Beach Shoreland Zoning(opens in a new tab)
Zone distances and the shoreland zoning map
oobmaine.com
Maine Geological Survey dune maps(opens in a new tab)
Ocean Park, West Grand Avenue, East Grand Avenue and Surfside Beach
digitalmaine.com
Maine DEP coastal sand dune fact sheet(opens in a new tab)
When dune work needs a state permit
maine.gov

Old Orchard Beach Questions

Our place is in Ocean Park. Is brush clearing possible there?

That depends on whether your lot is in the mapped dune system. The Maine Geological Survey maps coastal sand dunes at Ocean Park, and Maine DEP says removing dune vegetation needs a DEP permit and is generally not permitted. On lots back from the dunes, brush clearing may be fine once the town confirms the shoreland rules. We'll look up your address on the dune map with you before quoting.

My land is along Goosefare Brook. How far back do the shoreland rules reach?

On the brook's nontidal stretch below the Boston and Maine Railroad bridge, the town's shoreland zone reaches 250 feet from the water. Above the bridge, it reaches 100 feet. Inside that zone, Maine's minimum standards keep a vegetation buffer along the brook, with canopy openings inside the buffer capped at 250 square feet, and the town's ordinance can be stricter. Code Enforcement is the first call, and we'll plan the job around their answer.

Can you clear a wooded lot that isn't near the beach?

Yes, that's everyday forestry mulching work. Check one thing first: the town's shoreland zone reaches 100 feet from streams, wider than the state's 75-foot minimum, so a small stream at the back of a lot can bring the rules into play. If no stream, wetland or dune is close by, we grind the brush and small trees in place and leave the mulch on site.

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.

Old Orchard Beach Forestry Mulching Pricing

Most residential Old Orchard Beach 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.