TIL the hard way that lidar maps can be dead wrong about tree cover

I was looking at a 2019 lidar survey of a site near Durham, NC before we cleared a lot for a new build. The map showed a big open area with maybe 5 scattered trees, so I figured our crew could knock it out in a morning. Turns out that lidar data was from way back and the whole spot was thick with 30 foot tall volunteer pines that had popped up since. We spent two full days with a chainsaw and a skid steer just to get to the actual ground line. Nobody tells you that lidar sees through leaves in some seasons, or that the data can be years old depending on who published it. Now I always cross-check with a satellite image from the last 6 months before I bid a job. Has anyone else been burned by trusting old remote sensing data on an excavation or survey site?

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