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I have a lot about half the size of yours and have performed much of the work you describe over the course of the last few years. I bought a decent size old International tracked loader (a 1969 150 Drott loader) and found that it is a great machine. It performed all of the tasks I needed very well. In my opinion I would get the biggest tracked loader you can afford, and make sure it has a good uncarriage and is in good shape so that it will be reliable for you. You'll have enough work cut out for yourself with the clearing and road building without fixing a big piece of iron on top of that. At a minimum I would get a something in the 20,000lb size with at least 70 hp. I would insist on getting a 4-1 multipurpose bucket (or a "clamshell" bucket), and if you have rocky soils a ripper too. A winch would be nice if you're going to be dealing with a lot of trees, but not absolutely imperative. If you can get a detachable backhoe that would be great, but they are a little hard to come by on mid-size and larger loaders. And while it's true a backhoe is better for removing stumps, I've dug out many a big stubborn oak stump with my loader no problem. One thing people always say that's bad about a loader is that it digs up the root ball (with a bunch of dirt on it) along with the stump making them hard to burn. I found that by chafing the exposed root ball (after the stump is out of the ground) with the bucket teeth, most of the dirt can readily be removed. Then pick the stump up a few times with the clamshell bucket and drop it a few times. This also shakes nearly all the dirt off, leaving only the root structure - which burns very well in your pile. So from my experience, as long as your loader is of decent size and has the 4-1 bucket, it'll remove any stump and prep it for efficient burning. Plus it'll pop the smaller stumps out like sprigs of brocolli if all you have are smaller trees. The 4-1 bucket opens up and can be used as a dozer blade too, which is very handy for road building, grading and building sloped banks. Also the grabbing action of the 4-1 will enable you to pick up whole trees and move them around as easy as pie. Big piles of brush, stumps, rocks, whatever - just grab it with the 4-1 and move it where you want it real easy. Overall the 4-1 bucket is fantastic, I would definitely make it mandatory if you decide to get a loader. As far as specific models are concerned, there's alot of good candidates. It really depends on how much money you want to spend. There are lots of great old machines around that will serve you well, just make sure you get the right one that has been well cared for and maintained. Here's a few to consider: Cat - 941, 951, 955, 977
IH/Dresser - 125, 150, 165, 175, 250
AC - HD5 and bigger
Case - 850, 1150, 1450
Komatsu - D31, D41, D53
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