Forestry Mulching
A forestry mulching head on our skid loader grinds brush and small trees where they stand. The mulch stays on the ground and covers the soil.
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Iola is the Allen County seat, an older town beside the Neosho River. In town, a back corner left alone grows up in brush, and that can bring a weed notice. Out in the county, untended pasture and fence rows fill in with brush and cedar.
Nickell's Land Management is a land clearing company based in Parker, Kansas, and Iola is part of our service area. We take on brush clearing and lot clearing in Iola with a skid loader and an excavator. We also build new ponds and clean out old ones. Call or text (620) 252-9314, and we will look at the job and put the quote in writing.
Tell us what the land needs and where it is. We look at the job and put the quote in writing.
Iola had 5,396 people at the 2020 Census. Census estimates say more than a third of its homes were built in 1939 or earlier. About 8 in 10 homes are single-family houses.
The city code counts brush and woody vines as weeds. On a home lot, weeds and grass taller than 12 inches count as blight. A city notice gives the owner 10 days to cut or destroy them.
If nobody cuts them or asks for a hearing, the city can cut them and send the bill. An unpaid bill gets added to the property tax after 30 days. We clear a grown-over lot with the skid loader, and the excavator pulls roots that need to come out.
Inside the city limits, the fire code bans most open burning unless the fire chief writes a permit. Its list of materials banned from any burn includes yard vegetation and debris. When a county burn ban is on, no open burning or fires are allowed.
Out in Allen County, the 2022 Census of Agriculture counted 468 farms. Those farms held 85,986 acres of pasture and 10,743 acres of woodland. Burning brush from a clearing for a building site needs prior approval under the state's open burning rules. Burning to manage pasture falls under a farm exemption, and the local fire authority usually gets notice first.
Forestry mulching turns the brush into mulch right where it stood. The forestry mulching head on our skid loader grinds brush and small trees, and the mulch stays on the ground. Cedar cut below its lowest green branch will not sprout back, the extension service says. Hedge and honey locust sprout back from below ground.
The Neosho River runs past town, and Elm Creek crosses the south side. Flood stage at the Iola river gauge is 15 feet. The river crested at 26.9 feet on July 1, 2007, second only to the 1951 flood. At 17 feet, the weather service says flood water covers West Bruner Street by Riverside Park.
FEMA's flood map puts parts of Iola in the 1 percent annual chance floodplain. There, the city code requires a floodplain development permit before any filling or grading. Outside the city limits, the county planning and zoning office checks building permits against the county's zoning and floodplain rules. We point you to the right office before lot clearing or site prep starts.
The Census permit survey counted one to five new single-family homes a year in Iola from 2021 to 2025. If you plan to build on a lot in town, ask the city about its Neighborhood Revitalization Plan. It offers property tax rebates on qualifying new construction, with applications open through 2027.
NRCS soil maps show Kenoma silt loam and Zaar silty clay across much of Iola. Zaar formed from shale, and it can hold water 12 to 36 inches below the surface from November to May. Water moves through Kenoma very slowly.
Federal climate normals for the Iola station show about 42 inches of rain and melted snow a year. May and June are the wettest months. The median last spring freeze comes around April 8, and the first fall freeze around October 26. Heavy machines rut wet clay, so we plan the heavy work for drier spells when we can.
Lehigh Portland State Park in Iola sits on an old limestone quarry. Under most of town, though, the soil survey shows no bedrock within about 6 feet. Out in the county, Wagstaff soils can put limestone 20 to 40 inches down. Rock that shallow limits how deep a pond basin or a wall base can go.
Communities and areas we serve around Iola: Riverside Park, Cofachique Park, Prairie Spirit Trail, Neosho River, Elm Creek, Meadowbrook Park, East Iola Park, Lehigh Portland State Park, Allen Community College, Cedarbrook Golf Course, Bassett, US-54.
Iola ZIP codes served: 66749.
Iola is part of our service area. We look at the job first, then put the quote in writing.
(620) 252-9314 A forestry mulching head on our skid loader grinds brush and small trees where they stand. The mulch stays on the ground and covers the soil.
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We open up pasture and yards that brush and young trees have taken over. A forestry mulching head grinds the brush, and the excavator pulls bigger stems by the roots.
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We clear building lots and parcels around Parker, Kansas, with an excavator and a skid loader. The stumps get pulled, roots and all.
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We level and rough grade cleared ground for a new home or a shop. Then we cut in the access so the builder can start.
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We clear volunteer cedars and hedge out of fence rows and tree lines with an excavator and a skid loader. The line opens back up so a new fence can go in or a field edge can come back.
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We build new farm and home ponds with an excavator and a skid loader. We dig the basin and build the dam, then shape the banks and the spillway.
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We dig the silt and muck out of old farm and home ponds with an excavator. Then we clear and reshape the overgrown banks and the dam.
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We build retaining walls where a bank or a grade change needs holding. The base under the wall and the drainage behind it are part of the job.
Learn MoreA few of the questions we hear most around Iola. If yours is not here, call or text and ask.
Send the form with the town and a few words about the land. You can also call or text (620) 252-9314.
Tell us what the land needs and where it is. We look at the job and put the quote in writing.