Spring hits fast up here. One week you’re still navigating ice on the driveway, and the next the popple is already leafing out and you can’t see your property line. If you’ve been putting off brush clearing, spring is the window — but it’s a short one. Bugs arrive early, the ground gets soft fast, and by June you’re fighting the greenery instead of working ahead of it.
Here’s the checklist I run through every spring on jobs from Mancelona to Boyne Falls to keep the work efficient, safe, and worth every dollar.
- Walk the Property Line First
Before any saws come out, walk your boundary. You’d be surprised how many people don’t know exactly where their line is until brush starts disappearing on the neighbor’s side. If you don’t have survey stakes marked, get them flagged. It saves arguments and do-overs.
Look for: fence line encroachment, downed trees crossing the boundary, standing dead wood near structures, and anything leaning toward the house, garage, or power line. - Identify What Stays and What Goes
Not everything brushy is junk. Northern Michigan has a lot of young native hardwoods — wild cherry, ironwood, young maples — that are worth keeping if they’re healthy and in the right spot. Tag what you want to save with flagging tape before we start. Once it’s chipped, it’s gone.
Common things worth keeping: mature oaks, healthy fruit trees, native shrubs along a waterfront, natural windbreaks on the north and west sides of a cabin.
Common things worth clearing: dead ash (still everywhere after the EAB wave), popple stands that are suckering out of control, tag alder choking a creek edge, and any volunteer trees growing into your foundation or roofline. - Deal With Dead Ash Now
If you haven’t cleared your ash trees yet — now is the time. Emerald ash borer has worked its way through most of Northern Michigan, and standing dead ash gets brittle fast. What falls on its own terms doesn’t fall on yours. We see more insurance claims from neglected ash than almost anything else. A dead ash that stood fine last fall can come apart in a June thunderstorm without warning. - Open Up the View Before the Leaves Fill In
This is the most underrated spring timing tip: view trimming and clearing is best done before full leaf-out. You can see the structure of the tree, judge what needs to come out, and identify sightlines that will close up once the canopy fills. If you want to open a lake view, a ridge line, or even just your sunset from the back deck — spring is when we make those calls accurately. Once the leaves come in, you’re guessing. - Chip On Site or Haul It Out?
For most residential spring clearing jobs, chipping on site makes the most sense. The chips can go back on garden beds, around the base of remaining trees, or spread on bare dirt trails. It cuts down on dump fees and gives you something useful back.
For larger acreage jobs or fence-line clearing with heavy wood, we often build a burn pile or haul it out in a dump trailer. Michigan DNR has seasonal burn rules — check local guidelines before you light anything. - Don’t Wait Until the Ground Goes Soft
Once the frost is out and we get a few warm rains, the ground gets soft fast — especially near creek edges, lowland areas, and lakefronts. Heavy equipment can leave ruts that take all summer to recover. The best time to run a chipper or skid steer through a soggy area is when the ground is still firm in the early spring. Once it turns to mush, we park the equipment and work by hand. - Timing Around Wildlife
Michigan DNR recommends avoiding aggressive land clearing from April 15 through August 1 if possible, to protect ground-nesting birds. We’re not saying skip the work — but if you have a section of brush you’re not in a hurry on, let the nesters finish their season. The brush will still be there in August. We work around it where we can.
Ready to Reclaim Your Property?
If you’ve got a fence line that’s turned into a wall, a lake view you haven’t seen in three years, or a dead ash that’s been making you nervous all winter — give Mike a call. We’re based out of Mancelona and work all through Otsego, Antrim, Charlevoix, and Kalkaska counties.
Free on-site estimates. 989.858.1068.
