One thing I have always tried to do is to not waste the wood from the trees we needed to take out. 

We always try to leave as many trees as possible of course, but sometime they are just in the wrong spot and need to be removed. 

You have several problems when this happens. One, the cost of the grading is much higher due to the tree removal. Second, the cost to haul off the trees can get really expensive depending on how many and how large the trees are in diameter. 

I have always kept a firewood crew on speed dial for situations just like this. I call them and tell them they can have the wood if they take down the trees. Sometimes when I need wood at my own home I will ask them to drop a 1/2 cord by my house, but only if there are a lot of trees that needs to be removed. 

Most of the time they will be happy to take the trees down and don’t mind giving the builder a little for the cause. 

Not every firewood crew wants green wood. That means trees that are still alive when they need to be removed. They all want the dead or standing dead trees. You have to negotiate with them. “Hey, you take these live ones and you can have the next round of dead ones”. That will almost always get them to work a deal. 

I have never had one ask me what it paid to take the tree down. They do it for the wood. Then they resell the wood. 

One thing you will need to keep in mind is do not let them cut the tree trunks all the way to the ground. Tell them to leave the stumps about 3.5-4 feet up above the ground. That way the grade guy can get the stumps out of the ground a lot easier. If you cut the stumps to the ground you are going to need a really big dozier to get the stumps out. 

It is a win / win for everyone. 

Steve