What clearing means in Bergen County
Nobody is clearing forty acres here. Bergen clearing jobs are the back third of a one-acre Franklin Lakes or Mahwah lot that was never landscaped, the footprint of a pool or an addition, a Palisades slope lot in Englewood or Tenafly that has grown up in Norway maple and bittersweet, a river-side yard in Lodi or Elmwood Park full of flood debris and volunteer trees, or an estate sale property in Ridgewood or Wyckoff that has not been touched in twenty years. The crew is a tree company with a chipper, a mini skid steer or a small excavator, a grapple truck for the big wood, and a stump grinder; the job runs a day or three.
What is included
- Cutting and chipping brush, vines (bittersweet, porcelain berry, poison ivy), saplings and small trees.
- Removing larger trees in the area, with the same climbing, rigging or crane work a single removal needs when they are near a structure.
- Grinding or pulling stumps, and raking or grading the chips and soil so the area is usable.
- Hauling the wood and debris, or leaving chips as mulch where you want it.
- Optional: invasive removal with follow-up treatment, topsoil and seed, or leaving the area ready for a contractor.
The rules that count trees
Clearing is exactly what the 2024 wave of Bergen tree ordinances was written for. Saddle Brook defines clear-cutting as more than four trees or a quarter of the lot's trees in a calendar year and requires a $50 permit for it. Park Ridge uses the same definition for a closer review. Ramsey requires its permit above six trees in twelve months. Mahwah prices its application by the number of trees (six to ten, eleven or more) and requires an inspection before anything is cut. Franklin Lakes charges $100 for the first five trees and $25 for each after, and tags every one. Englewood treats three or more regulated trees in five years as a project needing a bond and a replacement plan. Oakland forbids deforestation of more than 5,000 square feet without a reforestation plan. And the state model ordinances that Lodi, Garfield, Lyndhurst, Hasbrouck Heights, Elmwood Park and Cliffside Park adopted give a homeowner an allowance of fewer than four trees per acre in five years before replacement planting kicks in; a clearing blows through that, so every tree 6 inches and up becomes one to four replacement trees or an in-lieu fee. Saplings and brush under the town's size threshold are not counted anywhere.
Wetlands and buffers. Much of low-lying Bergen (the Saddle, Passaic and Hackensack corridors, the Meadowlands, Paramus's wet lots, the reservoir buffers in Oradell and Haworth) is state-regulated freshwater wetland or buffer, where clearing needs an NJDEP permit regardless of what the town says. A good crew asks about this before quoting; a bad one finds out from a stop-work order.
The Highlands. Mahwah, Oakland and parts of the northwest corner are in the state Highlands region, where larger clearings on undeveloped land have their own review.
What it costs
Clearing is priced by the crew-day, by the area, or tree by tree for anything large. Light brush and saplings on a quarter acre is typically a one-day job; a wooded back half-acre with a dozen mature trees is several days plus whatever crane work the trees near the house need, and the individual-tree prices in the cost guide apply to each of those. Stump grinding across a cleared area is often priced per stump with a bulk rate. Hauling heavy wood is a real line item; leaving chips on site saves money. Get the permit count, the replacement planting and the hauling written into the quote.
Clearing questions
Do I need a permit to clear brush and saplings in Bergen County?
Brush and trees below your town's size threshold (usually 6 inches in diameter; 8 in Wyckoff, Ridgewood and Englewood) are not regulated by the tree ordinances. Trees above it count, and clearing several at once triggers clear-cutting rules in Saddle Brook, Park Ridge and Ramsey, tiered fees in Mahwah and Franklin Lakes, and replacement planting under the state-model towns. Wetlands and buffers need state permits regardless.
How much does it cost to clear a backyard in NJ?
Light brush and sapling clearing on a typical Bergen lot is usually a one-crew-day job; a wooded area with mature trees is priced tree by tree on top of the clearing, using the published 2026 ranges ($500 to $2,500 per medium to large tree, more with a crane), plus stump grinding and hauling. Ask for the quote broken out by line.
Can I clear trees for a pool or addition?
Yes, with the town's tree permit folded into the building or zoning application; Wyckoff and Oakland exempt trees inside the construction footprint from replacement planting, and Mahwah and Hillsdale review them with the project. The trees still have to be on the application before they are cut.
Who clears a lot full of flood debris?
The same tree companies: grapple trucks and chippers handle downed wood and debris after Saddle River or Passaic flooding. Keep photos for insurance and FEMA claims before the cleanup starts.
How it works
- Describe the tree. Your town, what is wrong or what you want done, and a photo from the street if you can get one. A minute on the form.
- We hand it to one company that works your town. An independent Bergen County tree business registered with the NJ Board of Tree Experts and insured, picked because it actually covers your municipality and knows its permit.
- They come out and price it in writing. The company calls or texts you, looks at the tree, and gives you a written quote with no obligation. From there you deal with them directly.