Land Clearing
Brush, undergrowth and small trees cleared off lots and acreage with forestry mulchers and brush rakes, leaving ground you can use.
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Land clearing in Mill City often starts with the way in. The town sits in the Santiam Canyon along Oregon Route 22, on the North Santiam River downstream from Detroit Lake. Douglas fir forest surrounds it, and brush and small trees lean in from both sides of a private drive. On a lot left empty since the Beachie Creek Fire, blackberry and Scotch broom can close in the whole place.
Willamette Valley Land Clearing is based in Lebanon and works as far up the canyon as the Gates area. Land clearing is our main work: brush and small trees off lots and acreage, with stumps dug out. The same machines handle forestry mulching, blackberry removal, lot clearing, hillside clearing, overgrown driveway clearing and defensible space clearing. Call or text (541) 936-4687 for a free estimate.
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Mill City was named for its lumber mills. A railroad built in 1887 opened this canyon to settlement and logging of the mountains around it. The former railroad bridge, installed in 1919, is now a pedestrian bridge and one of the town's best-known landmarks.
Forest still sets the pattern of the land around Mill City. Douglas fir dominates, and the Santiam State Forest lies to the south. A canyon parcel is often a small opening in those trees. Left alone for a few seasons, that opening fills with brush, then young trees.
On a canyon lot, our Bobcat skid steer's forestry mulcher head grinds brush into mulch where it stands. Our excavator digs out stumps and pulls root balls with a brush rake. The mulch stays on the ground where it falls, which skips the burn pile in a forest canyon. The company grew out of an established Oregon commercial construction operation, and our crews run this equipment every day.
The Beachie Creek Fire swept through Mill City in September 2020, and the town took heavy damage. Gates was hit hard too, and the 2020 fires destroyed some homes in Lyons. Fire leaves disturbed ground behind. OSU Extension says Scotch broom sets up quickly, in thickets, on disturbed sites.
Its fuels guide for northwest Oregon calls broom and blackberry two of the most common invaders. So a Mill City lot or a drive left alone since the fire can be closed in by regrowth. We clear that regrowth of brush, blackberry, Scotch broom and small trees, and we mulch it in place. Blackberry removal gets follow-up passes, since canes sprout again from roots left in the soil.
If you plan to build here, lot clearing opens the house site and the way in. Stump dig-outs in Oregon typically need an 811 notice, then a two business day wait, and we plan around it. Mill City sits in both Linn and Marion counties, and Gates sits on the line between them. Our land clearing permit guide covers what to ask your county or city office.
Mill City sits at 837 feet in the Santiam Canyon and is considered part of the Cascade foothills. A canyon slope too steep to mow gets skipped year after year, and it closes in. Hillside clearing starts with where the machine sits. On canyon ground, our excavator sets up on stable footing and reaches out over the slope with its mulching head.
Root work on a steep canyon face gets planned with you. OSU Extension says pulling blackberry roots can lead to erosion, especially on slopes or near streams. This canyon has both. So the usual plan on a steep lot is to mulch the top growth and follow up on the regrowth.
A house on a canyon slope needs room around it. OSU Extension's northwest Oregon fuels guide puts the home ignition zone out 100 feet, or 200 feet on steeper slopes. Our defensible space clearing cuts brush and small trees back around canyon homes and outbuildings.
Canyon drives and lanes run through brush and trees on their way off Route 22. They grow shut from both sides and from the top. The same goes for lanes around Gates, Lyons and Mehama, and up the Little North Santiam toward Elkhorn. Our driveway and access road clearing cuts back a clear running width and opens the ceiling overhead.
Room for a fire engine matters in this canyon. Oregon State Fire Marshal guidance typically calls for 13 feet 6 inches of clear height on a driveway. It also calls for 20 feet of clear width for fire engines. Your fire district sets what applies to your place, and we plan the cut around that.
The Santiam State Forest south of town falls under the Oregon Department of Forestry's North Cascade District. On forestland, fire precaution levels typically limit power equipment in fire season. At level III, ground-based equipment typically runs only from 8 p.m. to 1 p.m., and level IV typically stops it. We plan the job around the posted level.
Communities and areas we serve around Mill City: Gates, Lyons, Mehama, Elkhorn, Little North Santiam, Stayton, Sublimity, Aumsville, Scio.
Mill City ZIP codes served: 97360, 97346.
Free estimates throughout Linn and Marion Counties and the surrounding area.
(541) 936-4687 Brush, undergrowth and small trees cleared off lots and acreage with forestry mulchers and brush rakes, leaving ground you can use.
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A mulcher head grinds brush and small trees into chips in one pass. You get the ground back under a layer of chips.
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We clear thick brush, undergrowth and small trees off lots, field edges, fence lines and back acreage. The material gets mulched in place or raked into a pile.
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We clear Himalayan blackberry off fields, fence lines, yards and back acreage with mulcher heads. Blackberry regrows from its root crowns, so we plan the follow-up mowing with you.
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We clear poison oak off acreage, fence lines and wooded lots with mulcher heads and an excavator. It sprouts back from the roots, so we plan follow-up passes with you.
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We clear brush and small trees off steep slopes and banks with an excavator that works from stable ground. The brush is mulched in place, and estimates are free.
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We brush hog overgrown fields, pasture and heavy weeds with a skid steer brush mower. Free estimates across the mid-Willamette Valley from our base in Lebanon.
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We clear homesites and building lots before construction starts. Brush, small trees and stumps come off the footprint and the access.
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We rough grade cleared ground, building pads and gravel driveways. The same machines that clear a property handle the dirt work.
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We regrade gravel driveways and farm lanes and put the crown back so water runs off. You order any new rock from a quarry, and we spread and grade it.
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Hire our skid steer with an operator from our crew for mowing, mulching, brush raking and rough grading. Several tasks can go into one visit, and estimates are free.
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Driveways, farm lanes and access roads that brush has closed in, opened back up. We cut the edges and the overhead, then mulch what comes off.
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We clear brush, blackberry and small trees back from homes, shops and barns. Machine work across the mid-Willamette Valley, with free estimates.
Learn MoreA few of the questions we hear most around Mill City. If yours is not here, call or text and ask.
Tell us where the property is and what you want cleared, and we will set up a look at it. You can also call or text (541) 936-4687.
Tell us about the job. We will get right back to you.