Land clearing is often associated with bulldozing and destroying the natural state of a tract of land. Just because land clearing drastically changes a parcel of land for another purpose doesn’t mean you just ignore the environment. There are procedures and equipment available that reduces the impact the land clearing process has on the natural environment.
There reasons that someone would want to have a tract of real estate cleared of overgrown vegetation and unwanted trees are numerous. Some of those needs are pipeline and utility line right of ways, fence construction, pasture reclamation, property surveying, fire breaks, wildlife habitat restoration and real estate development. In the next few paragraphs we will explore the pipeline and utility line maintenance and construction industry.
There are thousands of miles of pipeline carrying the energy that powers the country buried under the ground. To bury that pipe you have to have access to the land from one end to the other. The average pipeline right of way is about sixty feet wide. What is the best method to clear this area of the trees and vegetation while taking into consideration the need to protect the environment as much as possible? The best way is to use a forestry mulcher.
A commercial forestry mulcher has several benefits versus traditional land clearing methods when it comes to the environment. When you think of large, heavy machinery moving around on the ground you may have concerns of deep rutting being left behind by the tracks. That is not the case with a forestry mulcher like those produced by Gyro-Trac. The track system that allows the mulcher to move across the ground distributes the weight of the machine evenly giving the machine a lower ground pressure than traditional machines. One of the effects of the low ground pressure is a reduced rutting that aids in soil retention and ground water runoff.
As the mulcher chips away at the growth it produces a nice bed of organic mulch that aids in soil retention and rejuvination of native vegetation. There is no need to burn or haul the debris away which would consume more resources and creates a fire danger. The best way to help the land recover after the process is to provide it with a blanket of organic mulch.
What about the pipe that is already in the ground? Why do we have a need to clear the land years after the pipe is buried? Safety is the reason we need to maintain the pipelines. If the pipeline began to leak or possibly explode personnel needs to be able to reach the problem and make any necessary repairs. Nothing would be worse than to have a pipeline breach and not be able to get to the effected area. This could have a major impact on animal and plant life in the area. Also, pipeline companies look for potential problems from the air and from the ground. If the pipeline is covered with overgrown vegetation they can’t inspect it from the air or by a four wheeler on the ground.
The next time you have a parcel of land to clear, leave the bulldozer at home and use a better solution. Make sure your contractor uses a low impact forestry mulcher to quickly, efficiently and responsibly clear the land.