Used the company to buck up some downed trees, clear a bunch of blackberry bushes and ivy, and get my property down to dirt. Took a while for the owner to get the job scheduled. When he showed he didn't have his masticator. Said PG&E wasn't allowing him to use the masticator on his bigger jobs so he squeezed me in. I asked if he would still be able to get everything cleared and down to dirt and he assured me that he would. When he was done and I inspected the work I realized he had not touched multiple areas of the property he said he'd get to. Also, none of the property was down to dirt. There were ivy vines everywhere still. He had basically just stripped the leaves off the vines. I reached out to let him know about the issues. His immediate response was that he was going to place a mechanics lien on my house. He then made fun of my property, calling it "tiny" and essentially said he never planned to bring his masticator out. After some back and forth he finally agreed to come out another day and provide the service he promised. But had I known how difficult and rude he'd be I definitely would've gone with another company. read more

Submitted a request to have an estimate completed to clear part of our land, they were prompt about getting that set up. Layne was dispatched for the job. Very knowledgeable helpful and friendly. Super happy with the work that was completed, definitely gave piece of mind as the land was neglected and very over grown with brush and dead oaks. 1 3/4 acre was cleared, big pine tree was taken down that was next to a power line. Layne and his crew handled everything safely and professionally. read more

Defensible Space & Land Clearing Systems - After - Tree Services Near Me - Diamond Springs, California

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I so wish I were one of the people happy with this company, but unfortunately I fall into the group that paid a deposit and then never heard a word from them. After I paid the deposit, I waited for scheduling, which I had been warned might take a while. After a few months, I followed up by phone and email--no reply. After another two months, I followed up again by phone and email--still no reply. After trying to contact this company to either get scheduled or get my deposit refunded for more than a year, I finally decided all I could do was give up. So they took my $600 and I never heard another word from them. If you want to gamble and hope you're one of the people happy with this company, go for it. But at least now you've been warned. read more

Allow me to say this is an interim review as it is my hope that my numerous attempts ( text/ email and vm) will result in a return call for the service rendered. History: met with the rep and after walking the property to understand the scope was provided a quote with the outlook of two days work. To lock in the scope I sent an email with pictures and a typed scope. Was excited to hear they could start right away. I sent payment same day ( a day or so prior to start). Asked for and got pictures daily of work being done. I informed that I would be out to review the work about 8-9 days after they were done. Big impact to property but I did survey for a number of deficiencies. About 7 or so trees should have been removed for compliance to the shared insurance reqmts. APictures have been sent by email, trees marked and calls have been placed. Going on one full week with no return communication. Looking to avoid small claims court actions. read more

Richard showed up and gave me a quote for mastication and brush clearing. I gave him a deposit of $320. He strung me along for two months and has now gone silent on me. He won't respond to my texts, won't take a call and I can't reach him through the website. I guess I have been ripped off for $320. I should have looked at some of the other reviews. Good luck. read more

We just had these gentlemen out to our six acres with great results. So happy to have made great improvements to our land. Excited now to be able to walk the property. They did such a wonderful job of keeping us informed about all the property improvements and they were willing to meet all of our needs and requests. Looking forward to keeping them as long term friends. Such professionalism and honesty. Thank you for doing such a great job! read more

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Defensible Space and Land Clearing. They responded to my online inquiry for a quote by phone and in a timely manner. Their estimate for clearing our property was competitvely priced against the 4 quotes i recieved from other land clearing contractors. They arrived on the day advertised for work, and at the stated time of 9 a.m. All following days workers showed up as early a 7 a.m. and worked until 6 p.m. They were conscientious, thorough, safe in their use of chainsaws, masticators, watering down dry brush before masticating. They moved all useable wooden tree trunks to one specified location so that we could cut it up and use it in the future for firewood. In short they do high quality work and exceeded our expectations in clearing blackberry patched, undergrowth, weak trees, trees too closely spaced to each other for fire safe guidelines in our county. The owner was a fire Captain for decades before starting this business and his knowledge of wildfires was put to use in hardening our property in the event of a wildfire which, incidently came thru our area just weeks after the work was done. It was the Caldor fire, and because our property was properly cleared of excess fuels it was used at one point as a staging point by Division D fighters fighting the Caldor fire along the Camp Creek fire as it advanced along the canyon above the creek. This company did the work necessary to give us peace of mind in exactly this kind of event, and helped make it possible for First responders to do their jobs more successfully in my opinion. I read yelp before inquiring for an estimate. Because of the few poor yelp reviews given, i did not seriously consider going with Defensible space systems however i wanted at least 3 and preferrably 5 estimates from which to choose. I couldn"t be happier with Defensible Space Systems and i now recommend them to anyone looking for land clearing services. Not only that, neighbors who saw our property before the work was done and the resulting park like terrain after they were finished have made inquiries for Richards company name and phone number as they make decisions on what work to do on their properties. I would happily do it again! I only wish i had before and after photos to post! Les C.J. and family read more

The one star rating should have a negative sign in front of it!! Richard is not a licensed contractor...he is a LTO! There's a difference between the two according to the CSLB. LTO's are legally not allowed to collect deposits prior to the project. This guy does...and then? As for me, I paid $1000 deposit and waited and waited. After three months of calling, leaving messages, texting, being told they were coming out to start my land clearing in the morning and never showed I began to think I got scammed! what kind of company takes your money and never bothers to give a courtesy call in a three month period of time? I've since spoken to Richard asking for my deposit back as I moved forward with a different land clearing company. It's been about two weeks since then...I don't think this is going to end very nicely! read more

I had such a great experience with this team. Not only did they do an amazing job but they are good people. Rich is very personable, trustworthy, with an amazing work ethic. His team is hardworking and I was so impressed with how quickly and diligently they worked. Rich exceeded my expectations on every aspect of the job from setting the appointment to completion in a very timely manner. I am beyond satisfied and highly recommend this company. I sleep better knowing my land is cleared in case of fire and it just looks amazing. They went above and beyond. Thank you! read more

Buyer beware. He charges by the day, but you're not going to get a full days worth of work. Richard is a good sales person, but things quickly change when the customer starts holding the contractor to their expectations. He told us up front he has a full crew, which was only the case on the first day, and each day after had a less than full crew. Although he complained that our property was the worse he's ever cleared, he still came to us and proposed that he clear more of the manzanita at a discounted rate. If the property was so bad, then why ask to do more work? The day after he "completed" the work, my husband and I walked the property to find that many of the trees were simply pushed into the tree line and not actually mulched. Exercise caution and do your homework. These services aren't cheap, but a contractor should try to satisfy their customer when charging so much money. read more

We just had a large amount of our property cleared/thinned. Richard and his crew did a great job and really went above and beyond to make our property look great and more are safe, highly recommend. read more

I've tried to reach them for a goat land clearing estimate. The phone number just goes to a voicemail that says to use their website. I used their website to schedule an appointment. Since scheduling the appointment online I received an email and text confirmations that the appointment was scheduled. They never showed up. I waited around the entire 2 hour window and no call, text, email or any notice that they were canceling. Can't contact them via phone or by appointment so I'll have to find someone else to use. read more

Richard, owner of Golden State Forestry, is an exceptional human and very professional businessman. I called half a dozen or so people looking for help with clearing an acre of land that was about 8' deep of blackberries and poison oak. Richard called me back the same day I left him a message, despite being out helping with the many fires northern california experienced this summer. He came out two days later to give me an estimate and within a week he had his crew and masticator on site to clear our tricky sloped property. He had to reschedule once because of needing to help with fires, and he was very responsible about not flaking and keeping in communication with us. He did amazing work to provide us with a fire break and now more usable land. He is kind and loves his work. He is very knowledgeable and is AMAZING with interfacing with neighbors so everyone is happy that he is making so much noise and kicking up dust for a few days. I adore him so much that I want to have a standing coffee date with him, and my dog feels the same way. Will definitely keep Richard on speed dial for any help we need in the forestry management department and would recommend him to anyone that asks. read more

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These guys did a fantastic job of clearing my my property. I have 14 acres that was so overgrown with underbrush and berrys and dead trees, I couldn't walk through it. I told them I wanted it to be like a wooded park, and they did just that. They cleared all the underbrush and this spring is providing all green fields amongst the trees. I love to now be able to take beautiful walks on my property, and the deer love it too. They still have a some work this spring to finish up, but so far I couldn't be more pleased. Kudos to a great job of creating my park like property. read more

Golden State Forestry (Richard) came out to Colfax to do our manzanita brush clearing project yesterday & their amazing work exceeded my expectations. So happy with the outcome. Looks so nice! What a great service & a super machine! read more

These guys did great work on the property. Very happy with the results. Fully explained the process and pricing.

Defensible Space Systems did an amazing job clearing out the thick brush, trees and lots of poison oak from our property. We are so excited that in just a few days, we have acres of usable space! The crew was very efficient, professional and respectful. We couldn't be happier with the service. read more

These guys are awesome. Richard really knows his stuff and his team are amazing. They are worth the wait if you have to wait and I would never go with anyone else! My home looks amazing and I feel so much better knowing it was taken care of! You won't regret booking with them! read more

Richard came out for the estimate. . very nice and easy to follow about what needed to be done for fire protection code. These services aren't cheap but they did an amazing job thinning trees, clearing manzanita and brush. The place looks like a park! read more