Acreage, fencelines and cedar
Land clearing in Central Texas
Cedar thinning, brush and underbrush removal, fenceline clearing and lot clearing — on Hill Country rock or blackland prairie, from a quarter-acre to real acreage.
Same-day callback on estimates
Clearing runs $2,500 to $3,500 an acre for light brush and up to $5,500–$8,000 for heavy cedar on rock — the bands are below. Selective cedar thinning, where the oaks stay, is $1,500–$2,000 an acre. Add $500 to get the machine there and back. Haul-away included. On most Hill Country land the right answer is selective — take the cedar, keep the oaks.
What most people actually need
Nearly every clearing call I get is one of four jobs, and they price very differently.
- Cedar thinning. Taking ashe juniper off oaks it has been outcompeting for water. The highest-return clearing work there is, because the oaks respond.
- Fenceline clearing. Getting the line back so you can see it, fix it, and run it. Skill here is removing brush without tearing up the wire.
- Underbrush and defensible space. Opening up the ground layer so a property is usable and, near Canyon Lake and the western hills, so there isn't continuous fuel running up to the house.
- Lot clearing. Making a building site out of a wooded lot. This is the one where permits matter most, because it's development.
Machine matched to the job. A forestry mulcher grinds standing cedar and brush into chip on the spot and leaves it as ground cover, which is fast and means nothing to haul. A skid steer suits tighter sites, mixed work and anywhere you want material moved rather than mulched. Which one turns up depends on what your property actually needs, not on what happens to be in the yard.
What it costs
Priced by how thick it is, not just how big it is. An acre of scattered brush and an acre of dense cedar on a rocky slope are three or four times apart in work, so one flat per-acre number would be wrong for both of us.
| Density | What that means | Per acre |
|---|---|---|
| Light | Grass, light brush, scattered trees under 6 inches | $2,500–$3,500 |
| Medium | Established brush, cedar thickets, trees up to 12 inches | $3,500–$5,500 |
| Heavy | Large hardwoods, dense cedar, significant rock or slope | $5,500–$8,000 |
| Selective cedar thinning | Taking the juniper, keeping the oaks | $1,500–$2,000 |
Plus $500 mobilisation. Covers getting the machine to your property and back. One fee per trip, not per acre — so clearing more at once is cheaper per acre than doing it in stages.
Quarter and half-acre lots are usually quoted flat rather than by the acre, because the mobilisation is most of the job.
These are ranges, not quotes. Where you land inside a band comes down to slope, how close the machine can get, and what you want done with the material — mulched on site, hauled off, or usable wood stacked back are three different amounts of work. I'll give you a number for your property after I've walked it, and that visit is free.
Selective clearing, and why it's usually right here
There's a temptation to take a wooded lot to bare dirt because it looks decisive. On Edwards Plateau ground it's usually a mistake.
The soil out here is a few inches over limestone. What holds it in place is root structure, and once that's gone off a slope you have an erosion problem that costs more to fix than the clearing did. Cedar also shades ground that otherwise bakes, and it shelters wildlife.
What genuinely wants removing: juniper crowding heritage oaks, growth stacked against structures, brush blocking access, and anything making a fire path to a building. Leave the rest and the property is both more valuable and easier to keep.
Check the rules before machinery shows up
Several cities in my area regulate tree removal by trunk diameter, and it makes no difference whether it's one tree in a yard or forty on an acre. Clearing tied to building or development triggers rules that a straight removal doesn't.
Check your city's rules here — it takes about thirty seconds and mitigation is assessed after the trees are down, when you've no leverage left.
Where I do this work
Clearing is mostly an acreage job, so it's mostly the rural and Hill Country end of my service area: Driftwood · Bulverde · Canyon Lake · Johnson City · Blanco · Maxwell · Cedar Park · Mustang Ridge · Spring Branch · Niederwald. Anywhere else inside 50 miles of Kyle, ask.
Out at the far edges — Johnson City, Spring Branch, Blanco — it works better batched with other work the same direction, so give me some notice if it isn't urgent. If a neighbour needs something too, say so; it helps the price for both of you.
What's included either way
Haul-away. Brush, limbs and debris gone when I leave, not a line item added at the end. Want usable wood kept back for firewood or fence posts? Tell me before we start and it gets stacked rather than chipped.
Questions I get asked
How much does land clearing cost per acre in Texas?
I band it by density. Light brush and small trees runs $2,500 to $3,500 an acre. Established brush and cedar up to 12 inches is $3,500 to $5,500. Heavy work — large hardwoods, dense cedar, rock or slope — is $5,500 to $8,000. Selective cedar thinning that leaves your oaks standing is $1,500 to $2,000. Add $500 to get the machine to the property. Banding it this way matters because an acre of scattered brush and an acre of dense cedar on rock are three or four times apart in actual work.
What's the difference between selective clearing and clearing everything?
Selective clearing takes out what you don't want and leaves what you do — typically removing cedar while keeping the oaks. Full clearing takes the lot down to bare ground. Selective is slower per acre because every cut is a decision, but on Hill Country land it's almost always the right call: the oaks are worth keeping and they're the thing you can't replace.
Should I clear all the cedar off my property?
No, and I'd argue against it. Ashe juniper holds thin soil on slopes, shelters wildlife, and shades ground that would otherwise bake. What's worth removing is what's crowding your good oaks and what's stacked up against structures. Clearing a slope bare trades a tree problem for an erosion problem, and erosion is harder to fix than cedar.
Does clearing cedar actually help my oak trees?
Yes, and it's the most satisfying work I do. On Edwards Plateau soil the water sits in the top few inches, and a dense juniper stand takes it first. Heritage live oaks that have been losing that competition for twenty years put on visible growth once they aren't fighting for it.
Can you clear a fenceline without wrecking the fence?
That's most of the skill in fenceline work. Brush gets pulled away from the wire rather than dropped on it, and anything with weight gets roped so it falls where I want it. Haul-away is included, so you're not left with a windrow of brush to deal with afterwards.
Do I need a permit to clear land in Central Texas?
It depends on the jurisdiction and on what you're removing. Several cities in this area regulate tree removal by trunk diameter regardless of whether it's one tree or an acre of them, and clearing tied to development triggers rules that a straight removal doesn't. Check before machinery arrives, not after — mitigation is assessed once the trees are already down.
Got acreage that's got away from you?
Call or text me some photos of the property and roughly how much of it you want cleared.
Same-day callback on estimates
Call or text before 5pm on a weekday and you'll hear back from me the same day. Not an answering service — me.