Can these woods be GA "protected wetlands"?

Question

The builder has left woods consisting of tall brush and upwards of 20, 80-100 foot tall pine trees, behind my house. These woods are only 7 feet from my house, and I feel like I need to wear a hard hat when the pine cones come down from 100' above. I feel the woods are a fire hazard, hurricane hazard, as well as the hazards of falling branches and pine cones. The builder claims these are protected wetlands and cannot be disturbed.

How can I find out if what the builder says is true, and if there is anything that can be done regardless, considering that these trees are so hazardous?

Answer 1

Copper nails in the root system will kill a pine tree without having to cut them down and get you in trouble with Uncle Sam and the long arm of the law.

Here are a few points.  

A:  You do not want a tall pine tree within falling distance of your home.  Pine Trees snap like matchsticks in a hefty wind.   And when they fall on your roof, you will know it (saw it post-Katrina).

B:  If your home were in a wetlands, why did he build there.  You will regret it and have foundation problems for a very long time if so.

C:  You may be on the fringe of the wetlands,

D:  The US Army Corps of Engineers regulates wetlands, there are manuals available on their website that will tell  you how to determine if you have a wetlands - more or less - presence of water year round, and certain vegetation  (pine trees ain't one of them).

Good Luck.

Answer 2

Could very well be check with your Local Authority. They usually hold this information as an alert in their planning records. Often  you can access these via the Internet website here, in the UK. Any planning record or plan on your property has a 'warning flag' detailing the restriction.

Think very carefully about your position though and possible consequences before you do anything; there are very obvious benefits from having 'protected wetlands' near your home.