Forestry Mulching Cost in Lewiston, ID (2026)

Forestry mulching around Lewiston, ID costs $1,500 to $4,000 an acre, and thinning brush in a draw or around a house runs $1,500 to $2,500 an acre. For a home on the slopes above town, the bill usually turns on one decision: how far out from the walls to clear for fire.

At those rates, brush, small trees and stumps are ground into mulch on site, stumps end flush with the soil, and nothing is hauled away. Full stump removal below grade, and cutting and hauling very large trees, are discussed and priced in your quote. Grading is not part of our price: we clear to the ground so a builder can grade. Small jobs start at a minimum charge of about $1,500, which is the floor for small work, never an extra placed on top of an acre rate.

How Far Out to Clear Around a Lewiston, ID House

Idaho’s wildland fire zones split the ground around a house in two.

Zone One reaches 30 feet out from the house, decks and other structures. Dead and dying plants come out, leaf litter is cleared, tree branches kept at least 10 feet from the house and from other trees, and the low growth that lets fire climb into a crown taken out.

Zone Two runs from 30 to 100 feet out. Here the aim is to stop fire jumping from plant to plant: dead material goes, the remaining plants are spaced at least three times their own size apart, and grass is mowed to 4 inches or less.

On a hillside lot, add distance for the slope, and look past your own line at the slope and the neighbors’ yards around you. Trees and shrubs over the driveway should be trimmed to 13 1/2 feet so an engine can pass.

Turning the Zones Into Acres

Around a house 50 by 40 feet, the ground within 30 feet covers about 8,200 square feet, roughly 0.19 of an acre. Take the zone out to 100 feet and it holds about 49,400 square feet, a little over 1.1 acres, before any extra distance for the slope.

Only the part that is actually brushy gets priced. Lawn, gravel and the drive are not clearing work, so most lots come in under these figures.

Clearing around a 50 by 40 foot house	Area	How it prices
Zone One only, 30 feet out	About 0.19 acre	Minimum charge of about $1,500, where small jobs start; billed in place of an acre rate
Both zones, 100 feet out, all of it brush	About 1.1 acres	$1,500 to $2,500 an acre, about $1,700 to $2,850 for that area
Both zones, thick with tree of heaven or saplings	About 1.1 acres	The mulching band, up to $4,000 an acre
Extra distance down a slope	Whatever the slope adds	The same bands, higher in them where the ground is steep

Stem size, slope and the trees you keep set where a job lands in its band. All four bands are on the Lewiston pricing page.

Why the Slope Below the House Costs More

Much of the ground around town sits on terrace breaks. A mile north of Lewiston the ground is loamy soil on the eroded slopes of dissected terraces, with slopes of 20 to 65 percent and gravelly alluvium 25 to 40 inches down.

On that kind of grade a tracked mulcher moves slower and has to choose its line, which is why the same brush sits higher in its band on a break than on a level bench. Our crew walks the slope before quoting and works where the footing is safe, usually from the top. Any part too steep to work safely is left out of the quote or handled another way, and you hear that before the job starts.

The gravel matters only for stumps: mulching grinds them flush and never reaches it, while stumps pulled below grade for a foundation or a drive do, so that work is priced in the quote.

No Burn Pile, Inside Town or Out

A saw-and-pile fire clearing leaves a brush pile, and here that is a problem. Open burning is prohibited inside Lewiston city limits. Outside cities, Idaho Code 38-115 sets a closed fire season from 10 May to 20 October, when burning slash, stumps or logs needs a permit. Requirements vary by parcel, scope and jurisdiction, and the governing authority makes the determination.

Mulching leaves the cut brush on the ground as chips, so there is nothing to burn or haul and no permit to wait on. Because Zone One calls for leaf litter to be cleared, tell us how you want the ground nearest the walls finished; the quote states it.

When the Brush Includes Tree of Heaven

Some saplings on a slope may be tree of heaven, which turns up in Nez Perce County. It is not an Idaho noxious weed, but cutting it alone brings up root sprouts, so it changes the plan more than the price. A licensed applicator treats it first, our crew mulches it about a month later, and a return visit takes the suckers; the treatment and the return visit are separate lines on the quote. Our Lewiston tree of heaven removal guide sets out the order.

Statewide rules on burn season, timber paperwork and stormwater are in our Idaho land clearing cost guide.

How Do You Compare an Hourly Bid With a Per-Acre Quote?

Multiply the hourly rate by the estimated hours, add mobilization and agreed extras, then divide the dollar total by the acres included. Ask how extra time is billed. Flat brush goes faster than a steep draw with the same growth, so the estimate should describe the ground it covers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I burn the brush from a fire clearing in Lewiston?

Not inside city limits, where open burning is prohibited. Outside cities, burning slash from 10 May to 20 October needs a permit. Mulched brush stays on site as chips, so neither rule applies.

Does the 100 feet stop at my property line?

We clear only the land you control. The fire zones take in the slope and the neighbors’ yards around you, so a neighbor whose brush adjoins yours can add their part to the same visit.

Is clearing just Zone One billed at the minimum?

Usually. Around a typical house it is under a fifth of an acre, so it is charged the minimum of about $1,500 in place of an acre rate, never with a fee on top.

Get a Price for Your Lewiston, ID Property

Request a free quote and we’ll contact you to discuss your property, access and the clearing you need. The zones, the finish and the price are in writing before the machine comes off the trailer.

Read more: towns, soils and local rules on our Lewiston land clearing page.