Few properties around the south end of Seneca Lake are flat and open. A big maple behind a Watkins Glen home might lean toward a neighbor’s porch, a white pine at a Hector camp might stand on a bank that drops straight to the water, and a dead ash in Montour Falls might hang over the only driveway. Each one calls for a different way of getting the wood to the ground.
Tubbs Tree Service brings a crane, a bucket truck, climbers on ropes and rigging, and a knuckle boom truck with a log grapple. Jason Tubbs, who has 20+ years of experience in forestry and residential tree work, matches the method to the tree and the ground during a $50 on-site consultation. You get an itemized plan with options, and the $50 is credited when you accept it.
Why removals here rarely start from flat ground
Slope changes everything. On a lakefront lot, a bucket truck may not be able to set up safely, and a tree felled whole could slide or roll toward the water. Village lots in Watkins Glen and Montour Falls are often tight, with sheds, fences and wires on every side. Out in Burdett and Hector, the challenge is usually reach: a tree at the edge of a field or a ravine that equipment can’t drive to on soft ground.
That is why our crew takes most trees near buildings down in controlled sections, lowering each piece on ropes or lifting it clear with the crane, instead of dropping the whole stem.
What shapes the price of a Schuyler removal
- Height, trunk size and whether the wood is sound or brittle from ash borer or decay
- Targets underneath: roofs, docks, decks, septic fields and power lines
- Access for equipment, including steep drives, lake stairs and wet ground
- Whether a crane is needed to reach over a house or down a bank
- How much cleanup you want, and whether stump grinding is added
- What happens to the wood: left in rounds for you, chipped, or hauled for local use
Choosing the rig: crane, bucket or climber
A crane earns its place when a tree stands behind a house with no room to lower limbs, or when a lakeside trunk needs to be lifted up and away from the shoreline. A bucket truck is quick and tidy where there is firm, reasonably level ground near the tree. Climbers with rigging go where nothing else fits, such as the back corner of a Watkins Glen yard or a ravine edge. Jason will tell you which approach he would use and why, so the plan makes sense before anyone starts a saw.
Where the wood goes after the cut
Wood from your job goes to local use as firewood, mulch or, now and then, building material. Many owners keep rounds for their own stove. Keep in mind that New York does not allow untreated firewood to travel more than 50 miles from where it was grown unless it has been heat treated, so local use is the right home for it anyway.
Tree Removal Questions From Schuyler County
Do I need permission to take down a tree on my own lot in Watkins Glen?
Rules vary by village and town, and we have not confirmed a single countywide rule. Before work starts, call your village or town office and ask. If the tree stands between the sidewalk and the street, it may belong to the village rather than to you, so check who owns it first. Jason can point out which trees look like they sit on the line.
Can you remove a tree from a steep bank above Seneca Lake without tearing up the slope?
Usually, yes. On banks we avoid dragging logs across the soil. Pieces are lowered on ropes or lifted out with the crane, and we can leave the stump and roots in place to keep holding the bank. During the consultation, Jason will look at how the ground drains and suggest an approach that protects your shoreline.
Is stump grinding part of the removal price?
Only if you want it. Stump grinding can be added to any removal or booked on its own later. Some lake owners leave stumps on slopes on purpose to hold soil, while lawn owners usually want them gone. Your itemized plan lists grinding as its own line, so you can decide with the numbers in front of you.
Want the full picture? Read our tree removal guide, or see everything we do in Schuyler County.