Clearing trees seems to be a popular spring activity on Green County farms. But did you know that you might need a permit to do this work? It all depends on how and where the work will get done. Will a backhoe be taking out the trees or will you cut them off and leave the stumps?

In Green County, there are conflicting rules that govern tree removal. Landowners on the four legal Drainage Districts in the county have received letters in the past to keep their banks clear of trees to allow for the water to flow and to have a grass buffer along the ditch. Drainage Districts in the county are Drainage District # 1 (part of the Juda Branch), Drainage District #2 (part of the Little Sugar River), Decatur District (part of Sylvester Creek) and the Broughton District (part of Norwegian Creek). For the rest of the county’s many creeks, streams and rivers- state/ county shoreland zoning rules apply. Which say that “no more than thirty feet (30’) in any one hundred feet (100’) (measured along the ordinary high-water mark) may be clear-cut.” So a complete stream corridor shouldn’t be cleared.

There are legitimate reasons to clear trees and slope the banks back. Trees like boxelder and willow are a constant fight along stream corridors that no longer have grazing pressure to keep them at bay. These fast growing trees quickly shoot up, out shading competition and usually leave the ground bare. Bare ground is more susceptible to erosion. If this ground is in a stream corridor, the stream banks could become vertical and the soil erosion increases.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) will be involved if there is more than 10,000 square feet of ground disturbance. A Grading Permit would be required. All it takes is a 20-foot swath by 500-feet long of tree clearing by bulldozer to need this permit. It is in a landowner’s best interest to contact the WDNR or Green County Land and Water Conservation Department to verify if a permit will be needed. The WDNR maintains a website for guiding people through the permitting process it is at http://dnr.wi.gov/Permits/Water/.

The Green County Land and Water Conservation Department can be reached at (608) 325-4195 ext 170.