Tree Removal in Lupton, Michigan

Trees on the Sage Lake and Rifle Lake lots

The Lupton lakes are ringed with cottages on narrow lots, and the trees on them are the usual northern Michigan mix: red pine and jack pine on the sand, red oak and aspen on the slopes, cedar hanging over the water, and ash in the low ground that has mostly gone to the borer. On Sage Lake in particular, the lots were cut small and the trees were left big, so a removal often means working over a roof, a boathouse and a dock at the same time. That is bucket truck work, and it is what we are set up for.

New builds and teardowns around the lakes keep us busy with lot clearing: taking out the trees that are in the footprint, chipping the brush, grinding or pulling the stumps, and leaving the good trees standing so the place still looks like the woods when the cabin is done. We can also buck the usable wood into firewood lengths and leave it stacked.

Oak wilt in Ogemaw County

Oak wilt is confirmed in Ogemaw County. That matters in Lupton because red oak is everywhere here and red oak dies fast once it is infected, often within a few weeks of the first wilting leaves. The DNR rule is no pruning or wounding of oaks from April 15 through July 15. We follow it, and we schedule oak trimming for the dormant months when the beetles are not flying. If a storm tears an oak limb in June, we can seal the wound the same day to lower the risk.

Dead ash is the other standing problem. Emerald ash borer is across the whole state, and the ash in the wet ground around Rifle Lake and along the river went years ago. Those trunks get brittle and unpredictable. We take them down from the bucket rather than climbing them.

Storm and hazard work close to home

Lupton is a short run from the shop, so storm calls around Sage Lake, Rifle Lake and Lake George get one of the fastest responses we can give. The storm line is (989) 305-9731, and it is answered around the clock in storm season. Trees on houses, trees blocking driveways and trees down on the service drop from the pole to the house come first. On the service-drop jobs we coordinate a temporary disconnect with Consumers Energy so nobody is working near a live wire.

Permits, digging and the river

Most tree removal on private land around Lupton does not need a permit, but two rules come up regularly. Within 500 feet of a lake or stream, stump grinding or grading can trigger a soil erosion permit from Ogemaw County, and the Rifle River carries Natural Rivers rules on top of that. Before any stump grinding we call MISS DIG 811 for a utility locate, which needs three business days. We handle all of it and tell you what applies before we quote.