There is much confusion about commercial land clearing and why it is done on a large scale.
Many disagree with it, believing the land should be left in its natural state unless and until it will be used for something.
While it might seem to be an unnecessary destruction of the environment and waste of the resources required to do it, commercial scale land clearing is actually very important in some cases.
Beginning with the most obvious, here are four reasons why land clearing is done and how it helps!
1. Land Development
Naturally, the first step in developing any land, whether to build homes on it or an office park, is to clear it.
As the demand for more suburban spaces continues to grow, more raw land must be cleared to accommodate that demand.
More of today’s land developers recognize the desire and need to preserve open spaces and plan their clearing to leave mature trees, ponds, open fields, and other natural elements intact, both for aesthetic and conservational reasons.
2. Grazing and Farming
The agricultural industry makes up another portion of those utilizing commercial land clearing to ready large acreages for planting or grazing.
As the demand for grains and forage grows in our country and across the world, some wild lands must be converted for farming and grazing.
3. Fire Safety
In areas where wildfires are prevalent or possible, land clearing is commonly used to create fire breaks.
Wide, cleared lanes on the outskirts of communities and through wooded areas create a gap in the brush and trees that can stop a fire before it causes more damage.
Fire breaks protect homes, businesses, lives, and even other forested land by causing the fires that do reach them to burn out, instead of continuing on if those lanes had not been cleared.
4. Environmental Preservation
As contradictory as it might seem, commercial land clearing is also used to preserve the environment and not just to prepare land for other uses.
Unhealthy trees and brush or areas too thick with dying vegetation pose not just a fire threat to humans and animals, but also a disease threat to nearby wildlands.
Clearing away or thinning these areas maintains their health.
Areas experiencing damaging erosion can be preserved by clearing and planting them with groundcovers and grasses, too.
Planned and performed with care, commercial land clearing is beneficial and also necessary!