Lot clearing, forestry mulching, and excavation across Morgan County — from the river bottoms along SR 60 to the reclaimed hill country out toward Jesse Owens State Park. We are based right here.
Every service Buckeye Land Clearing & Excavation offers is available throughout McConnelsville, Malta, and the rest of Morgan County. One crew, one point of contact, and a shop that is a few minutes down the road rather than a few counties away.
Overgrown ground is the reason most Southeast Ohio properties sit unused. As your land clearing contractor, we open up lots and acreage for building, cut back brush and underbrush that has taken over pasture or hunting ground, and take out trees and stumps down to grade so the site is genuinely workable. We also handle right-of-way clearing and storm cleanup when downed timber has blocked access or made a property unsafe. Every job ends with the debris dealt with, not pushed into a pile at the tree line.
Forestry mulching clears brush and small timber in a single pass and grinds it back into the ground as mulch, so there is no burning, no hauling, and no stump field left behind. It is the fastest way to reclaim pasture, open a hunting lane, or make an overgrown parcel presentable before it goes on the market. We handle brush and vegetation mulching on smaller jobs and full land reclamation mulching on acreage that has gone years without attention. The mulch layer left behind holds soil in place and breaks down into it over the following seasons.
As excavating contractors we handle the dirt work that has to happen before anything gets built. That includes trenching for water, electric, and drainage lines, final grading and site prep so a builder can start clean, and building pads sized for residential work. We also cut in driveways and entrances and install drainage systems that move water away from structures instead of toward them. If you need land grading contractors for a finish grade rather than a full site build, that is well within what we do.
When something on the property has to come down before the real work starts, we take care of it. We handle structure demolition on outbuildings, barns, sheds, mobile homes, and small structures, and we clear the debris rather than leaving it for someone else to deal with. Because we are already on site with an excavator, adding demolition to a clearing or excavation job is usually far cheaper than bringing in a separate contractor. Ask about it when we come out for your estimate.
A septic system is often the piece that decides whether a rural parcel is buildable at all. We install new systems on cleared and excavated sites and handle repair and service work on systems that have failed or backed up. Because we do the clearing, the excavation, and the septic on the same property, the site work and the system get planned together instead of fighting each other. Ohio septic work is permitted through your county health department, and we walk you through exactly what that involves.
Brush clearing takes out the low growth — briars, saplings, volunteer scrub, and invasive shrubs like multiflora rose and autumn olive — without touching the canopy or disturbing the surface underneath. Where the root crown can be reached, we grind it below grade rather than just cutting the top, which is the difference between killing a plant and giving it a haircut it comes back thicker from. It is the practical fix for a fence row that has crept into the field, a lot you can no longer walk, or a lane that scratches every vehicle going down it. We take the small jobs, including the half-day ones most outfits will not move equipment for.
Getting started is easy. Contact us by phone or fill out our online form for a free estimate, and we’ll get back to you promptly to learn more about your project needs.
McConnelsville sits on the east bank of the Muskingum, built up the hills above a river that made the town and very nearly took it away. The locks and dams that went in between 1836 and 1841 turned the Muskingum into a steamboat route and grew McConnelsville and Malta into the twin towns they still are, tied together by the Morgan County Veterans’ Memorial Bridge. Then came March of 1913. Water stood thirty feet deep in McConnelsville, twenty-eight buildings washed away, and three quarters of the people in the two towns were left homeless. The high ground saved most of McConnelsville. Malta, sitting in the floodplain, was not so lucky.
That history is written into the ground here, and it still governs how land work gets done. Bottomland along SR 60 holds water and stays soft into spring. The hills above it are steep, wooded, and quick to grow back over. And east and north of town lies something you will not find anywhere else in Ohio — close to 60,000 acres of reclaimed strip mine, the AEP ReCreation Land, where 110 million tons of coal came out and 63 million trees and 350 lakes went back in. Jesse Owens State Park and Miner’s Memorial Park sit in the middle of it, with the Big Muskie bucket parked along SR 78. Private ground bordering all of that is prime hunting and recreational land, and it needs the same thing every year: lanes cut, brush knocked back, and access opened up.
Buckeye Land Clearing & Excavation is based in Chesterhill — in Morgan County, a short run from McConnelsville. This is our home county. Stuart Smith has spent more than 30 years in construction and now runs the equipment himself on every job, which means when you call about a property here, you are talking to somebody who already knows the road it sits on. Residential lots, farm and hunting acreage, and real estate parcels being cleaned up to sell are the core of what we do.
We walk the property with you, look at what is actually there — timber size, slope, wet ground, access — and talk through what you want the land to do when it is finished. You get a clear price with no obligation, and no charge for the visit. If financing makes the project easier, we go over those options at the same time.
We confirm the boundaries, mark anything staying, and locate utilities before a blade touches the ground. If your project needs a permit — a septic system, a drainage tie-in, a right-of-way — we tell you exactly what is required and who to file with. Nothing starts until you know the plan and the price.
This is the work itself — cutting brush and trees, mulching the material back into the soil, pulling stumps, digging trenches, shaping drainage. You get the owner on the equipment for every hour of it, and a call at the end of each day if anything on site changes the plan.
This is the work itself — cutting brush and trees, mulching the material back into the soil, pulling stumps, digging trenches, shaping drainage. You get the owner on the equipment for every hour of it, and a call at the end of each day if anything on site changes the plan.
We set the final grade so water runs where it should, clear the debris, and leave the site ready for whatever comes next — a builder, a seed drill, or a for-sale sign. Then we walk the property with you before the equipment goes on the trailer, so nothing is left unfinished or unsaid.
Buckeye Land Clearing & Excavation is based in Chesterhill, giving us firsthand knowledge of Morgan County’s terrain, road access, and soil conditions. From the Muskingum River bottomlands to the county’s steep wooded hills and reclaimed mining areas, every property presents different challenges, and we tailor our approach to match the land.
We regularly help property owners throughout Morgan County with forestry mulching, land clearing, excavation, site preparation, driveways, drainage improvements, and recreational property projects. Whether you’re opening trails, preparing a homesite, improving farmland, or reclaiming overgrown acreage, we have the equipment and local experience to get the job done right.
We also help clients navigate local permitting and environmental requirements when needed, and we often recommend scheduling clearing projects during the late fall and winter months, when ground conditions are typically more favorable for heavy equipment.
Whether your property sits on a hillside off Strouds Run Road, out along US 50 toward Coolville, or on acreage past Amesville that has grown in over the years, we will come look at it and tell you straight what it will take. Estimates are free, and we cover Athens and everything inside about 60 miles of Chesterhill — the whole county and well beyond it.
Buckeye is built on more than 30 years of hands-on construction experience. Owner Stuart has worked in the construction industry for decades, including running his own electrical contracting company throughout the 2000s, bringing a level of knowledge and problem-solving that goes far beyond the age of the equipment. When you work with Buckeye, the person who visits your property to provide the estimate is the same person who completes the job, ensuring clear communication and consistent results from start to finish. Because the excavator, brush cutter, and mulcher are company-owned rather than rented, projects can be scheduled more flexibly without the pressure of rental deadlines affecting decisions on your property. Buckeye also understands that land improvement projects can be a significant investment, which is why financing options are available to help make the cost more manageable by allowing payments to be spread out over time.
We provide land clearing services, forestry mulching, and excavation across a 60-mile radius from our base in Chesterhill — roughly an hour and a half in any direction. That covers Muskingum, Noble, Washington, Athens, Perry, Guernsey, and Fairfield counties, along with the towns and cities below.
It comes down to what is growing on it and what kind of ground it is. An acre of light brush on flat bottomland is a completely different job from an acre of mature hardwood on a hillside above the river, and reclaimed mine ground is different again. Timber density, whether stumps come out, whether material gets mulched in place or hauled off, and how hard the access is all move the number. We do not publish a flat per-acre rate because it would be wrong on most properties here. We come look, and you get a real number before anything starts — and since we are based in the county, coming to look is easy.
Yes, and it is a large part of what we do in Morgan County. Private acreage bordering the ReCreation Land and Jesse Owens State Park is some of the most sought-after hunting ground in Ohio, and it grows over fast. We cut shooting lanes and access trails, open food plots, and mulch back timber stands so a property is walkable and huntable again. Important distinction: we work private property only. The ReCreation Land is AEP and ODNR ground open to the public — anything on it goes through them, not through us.
Yes, and it needs to be approached differently than undisturbed ground. Reclaimed spoil is mixed material that was pushed back and graded, so it can be heavily compacted in places, loose in others, and it can settle unevenly for a long time. Buried material is common. Drainage often does not follow the contours you would expect. We plan for all of that rather than being surprised by it — but we will also tell you honestly if a particular piece of ground is not suited to what you are hoping to put on it.
It depends on scale and location. Once the job disturbs one acre — or less if it is part of a larger development plan — it needs coverage under the Ohio EPA construction stormwater general permit along with a stormwater pollution prevention plan. Work near the Muskingum or any creek falls under Ohio Revised Code 6111.315, which limits where equipment can operate relative to the water and requires ground to be stabilized within seven days of final grade. Septic work goes through the county health district. We will tell you which of these apply to your job before you commit to it.
A mulcher grinds standing brush and small trees into chips that stay on the ground as a mat, so there is no burn pile and nothing to haul. On recreational ground it is usually the better choice — it is faster, cheaper, leaves the soil covered, and gives you a usable property in one pass. Traditional clearing with an excavator is the right call when you need mature timber down, stumps out, or bare ground for a foundation. Most jobs around here end up being some of both, and we will tell you which parts of your property need which.
Usually, yes, though bottomland along the Muskingum will never drain like hill ground. We cut swales, install drainage, and shape the grade so water leaves rather than pooling against a building or sitting in the low corner of a field. What we will not do is promise that engineering solves a floodplain — Malta sits mainly in the floodplain and 1913 is a reminder of what the river is capable of. The honest answer is that good drainage handles ordinary rain very well, and no amount of it substitutes for knowing where your property sits relative to the river.
Late fall through winter. The leaves are off so you can see what you are actually working with, the brush is dormant, and frozen ground carries a machine instead of rutting under it. That goes double here because of the bottomland — river bottoms along SR 60 stay soft well into spring, and working them wet makes a mess that takes a season to recover from. We work all year, but if your project can wait for cold weather, you will get a better result for the same money.
All of it. We are based in Chesterhill, so Morgan County is home ground — McConnelsville, Malta, Stockport, Pennsville, Deavertown, Eagleport, and everything on the county roads in between. From here we also cover about 60 miles out, which takes in Zanesville and Crooksville to the north, Caldwell to the east, Athens and Glouster to the south, and Beverly and Marietta down the river. If you are wondering whether your property is in range, it almost certainly is.
