Land clearing in Oregon

Land clearing rules across Oregon

Survey the boundary before the first tree falls. ORS 105.810 makes willful removal of trees from another person’s land worth treble damages plus attorney fees and reforestation costs; ORS 105.815 drops it to double damages only when the trespass was casual or involuntary. On a lot-line clearing job, that is the single most expensive mistake.

The crew needs a CCB license under ORS 701.005, which covers removing trees, limbs and stumps, or an LCB landscape license. Burning slash on land protected by the Oregon Department of Forestry needs a written permit during fire season (ORS 477.515), and DEQ rules ban backyard burning year-round in Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties.

City tree rules hit clearing hardest. Of 40 Oregon cities tracked, 7 require a removal permit, 13 require one in some cases and 13 do not; for 7 we found no rule. Forest Grove sets its trigger at 6 inches on developable land, and 3 inches for Oregon white oak.

What land clearing costs in Oregon

BLS puts the statewide mean tree-worker wage at $35.40 an hour, and that labor base sits under the modeled range below. Clearing pricing depends far more on what leaves the site than on the felling: chipping and hauling, log decks, stump grinding and whether you can burn the debris.

In the Portland metro, where backyard burning is banned, every load of slash is hauled or chipped. Elsewhere, an ODF or DEQ burn window can cut disposal costs if your schedule fits it. Ask each bidder to price stumps and debris as separate lines so you can compare like with like.

Modeled estimate, not quotes (method): crew-hours × $225 per crew-hour; ×1.25 within 10 ft of a structure, ×1.3 with no truck access; a crane day adds $1,500–$3,500; stump grinding is separate.

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, SOC 37-3013. Checked 2026-10-02.

Storm season and timing in Oregon

Oregon’s storm calendar shapes when crews are free. NOAA logged 4,808 storm reports statewide; Curry, Lane and Klamath counties lead on high wind, with peaks in January, so crews are tied up with storm work through winter.

Summer brings the opposite constraint. Douglas and Jackson counties list wildfire as their top hazard, and ODF fire season limits burning and sometimes equipment use on protected land. Clearing that also creates defensible space is worth timing for late spring, after the wet season and before fire restrictions tighten. DEQ’s yard-debris windows run March 1 to June 15 and October 1 to December 15.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 2016 to June 2026 · NWS zone-county correlation files (2019 to 2026 versions). Checked 2026-10-02.

Land clearing by city

No Oregon city has its own land clearing page yet; the city tree pages for Portland, Salem, Eugene, Gresham, Hillsboro and Bend cover the permit rule that applies there.

The strictest thresholds sit in the Portland suburbs and the southern valley. Lake Oswego requires a permit for any tree 6 inches DBH or larger under LOC 55.02.025, Happy Valley and Milwaukie also start at 6 inches, and Ashland adds a significant-tree rule for conifers 18 inches and up. Springfield counts trees from 5 inches toward its multi-tree trigger, which matters on a clearing job more than on a single removal.

• Portland635,109
• Salem181,779
• Eugene178,618
• Gresham111,513
• Hillsboro111,126
• Bend107,342
• Beaverton97,842
• Medford86,494
• Corvallis61,499
• Springfield61,431
• Tigard57,929
• Albany56,894
• Lake Oswego39,722
• Grants Pass39,239
• Keizer39,140
• Redmond38,547
• Oregon City38,175
• McMinnville34,647
• Woodburn31,948
• Happy Valley28,916
• Tualatin28,139
• Wilsonville27,833
• Forest Grove27,252
• Newberg26,896
• West Linn26,567
• Roseburg23,693
• Milwaukie22,114
• Klamath Falls22,111
• Ashland20,889
• Sherwood20,535
• Lebanon20,267
• Hermiston19,906
• Central Point19,139
• Canby18,004
• Dallas17,890
• Pendleton16,989
• Troutdale15,776
• The Dalles15,745
• Coos Bay15,686
• St. Helens14,450

Other tree services in Oregon

Tree removal in Oregon · Tree trimming in Oregon · Stump grinding in Oregon · Emergency tree service in Oregon · Arborist services in Oregon

What to do next

Order of work: confirm the survey line, check your city’s permit rule on the Oregon permit guide, decide how slash will leave the site, and verify the crew’s CCB or LCB number through the license lookup guide. The land clearing guide covers equipment choices and what to ask a bidder.

Land clearing across Washington and Oregon · cost guide · all of Oregon.