Land clearing in Seneca County usually means one of three things. Farmers in Romulus, Varick and Junius want overgrown fencerows pushed back from fields. Lake owners in Lodi and Covert want a tangled lot opened up for a cabin, path or view. And since September, landowners in Fayette are dealing with woodlots full of tornado-snapped trunks.
Tubbs approaches clearing selectively. During a $50 on-site consultation, Jason Tubbs walks the ground with you, marks what stays and what goes, and gives you an itemized plan with more than one level of clearing. The plan can protect healthy trees, keep habitat for wildlife and send the material to local use. Accept the plan and your $50 comes off the bill.
Woodlots hit by the Fayette tornado
An EF-2 tornado with 115 mph winds covered almost 8 miles in the Town of Fayette on September 2, 2026. In woodlots, that leaves trees snapped, uprooted and leaning on each other under tension. Clearing this kind of tangle is slow, careful work because a trunk pinned under another can spring when cut. Equipment like a knuckle boom with log grapple lets the crew lift and sort wood without walking into the pile.
Deciding what stays standing
- Healthy oaks, maples and hickories that shade, screen or add value.
- Young trees with good form that can fill in after clearing.
- Invasives to target: Norway maple and black locust are on New York’s regulated invasive list.
- Dead or dying ash and beech near paths, buildings or fences.
Slopes, gullies and wet ground near the lakes
Ravines run down toward Seneca Lake and Cayuga Lake all along the county, and some lowland is wet much of the year. Clearing on these sites needs a lighter touch so the ground does not wash out. Before any work near a stream or wetland, check with your town office or the DEC about whether a permit applies. Jason will plan access so heavy equipment stays on firm ground, and hand work with climbers can take over where machines would do damage.
Where cleared material goes
Wood and brush from your land can go to local use as firewood or mulch, or sometimes as building material. Keeping it close to home also respects New York’s rule against moving untreated firewood more than 50 miles. Bats and nesting birds use hedgerows and woodlots, so timing larger clearing projects matters too.
Brush & Land Clearing Questions From Seneca County
Can you clear tornado-downed trees out of my Fayette woodlot?
Yes. Storm-tangled woodlots are the kind of hard job Tubbs takes on. Jason will walk the lot, note which trees are under tension or hung up, and plan the safest order of work. Your plan can range from clearing access lanes only to cleaning up the whole stand.
Will you keep the good trees when clearing my lake lot in Lodi?
That is the point of a selective plan. Jason marks the trees worth keeping before any work starts, and the crew clears around them. Lake lots usually benefit from keeping some mature trees for shade, privacy and slope stability, so the plan focuses on brush, invasives and dead wood.
Can you push back the hedgerows along my fields in Romulus?
Yes. Fencerow clearing can mean trimming back limbs that hang over the field, removing dead trees, or taking out a whole row. Jason will look at what you want for field access and what you want to keep for windbreak or wildlife, then give you options at different levels.
Want the full picture? Read our brush & land clearing guide, or see everything we do in Seneca County.