On this page
- What Full-Service Land Clearing Includes: Mulch, Land Grading and Pads
- Residential Land Clearing for New Home Construction
- Rural Acreage, Brush Clearing and Land Management in Clay, Nassau and Baker
- Commercial Land Clearing and Excavation Work in Duval and Nassau
- Methods: Forestry Mulching, Dozer and Root Rake, Excavator and Haul-Off
- Palmetto Flatwoods, Trail Ridge Scrub and Live Oak Hammocks: Three Ground Types
- Wet Season, Dry Season and Low Lots That Hold Water
- Land Clearing Cost per Acre in Jacksonville, Free Estimate Included
- Wetlands, Tree Permits and Protected Species Before You Clear Your Land
- Storm Damage and Hurricane Cleanup in Northeast Florida
- Where We Clear Land: Jacksonville Property Owners From Orange Park to St. Augustine
- Questions From Northeast Florida Lot Owners
What Full-Service Land Clearing Includes: Mulch, Land Grading and Pads
Land clearing services here mean five line items, and you buy only the ones your lot needs.
- Mulching: palmetto, underbrush, small trees and brush and trees to 8 inches ground in place.
- Grubbing: root rake on the dozer under the pad footprint, $165 an hour with operator.
- Stumps: grind at $4.25 an inch, or pull them where the slab goes.
- Haul-off: excavator and trucks, $650 to 1,200 per 10-yard load.
- Rough grade and pad: 12 inches of compacted fill above crown of road, quoted per pad.
Site preparation services and brush removal sit on the same sheet. Mature trees come down under the county codes, priced by tree size. What we do not do: concrete, wells, septic, house demolition. A full-service land clearing company that promises all of that subs it anyway. Tell me which lines you need.
Residential Land Clearing for New Home Construction
A quarter-acre infill lot is $1,900 flat. A half-acre platted lot is one day on the skid steer, $2,700. The St. Johns County LDC protects live oaks at 8 inches, the Clay County LDC wants a permit before your building permit, and Chapter 656 wants a tree removal permit at 11.5 inches DBH in Duval. I pull them, fee at cost. Last fall on a 1-acre lot in Yulee near Wildlight we mulched in one day and built the pad: $2,700 plus $3,900. You want your property cleared before the builder's start date, so send the plot plan and I stake the pad corners on the walk-through.
Rural Acreage, Brush Clearing and Land Management in Clay, Nassau and Baker
Acreage runs $1,400 to 2,300 an acre on flatwoods, $1,100 to 1,700 on Trail Ridge scrub. Pasture reclaim, fence lines, trails, pond perimeters and planted pine rows all fit the mulcher. Near Callahan we cleared 12 acres of wax myrtle and volunteer pine off old pasture in 3 days with the 300-hp machine, $12,300 plus transport. On a 6-acre scrub tract at Keystone Heights, 2 days, $7,200. Tracts under greenbelt classification for agricultural use keep that status when we mulch instead of grub. Walk the line with me and we mark the keepers.
Commercial Land Clearing and Excavation Work in Duval and Nassau
Commercial and residential work run on the same sheet; the difference is the permit and the pad. Chapter 656 drops the protected size to 6 inches DBH on commercial sites in Duval. On a commercial job site at Cecil Commerce Center or SR 200 the pad and drainage come first, then the mulching limits follow the civil plan. Excavation work for the retention pond is quoted by the cubic yard. We cleared pads inside the Nocatee and SilverLeaf build-outs, and a CDD inspector checks compaction the way I do: proof-roll, then density test.
Methods: Forestry Mulching, Dozer and Root Rake, Excavator and Haul-Off
Four methods, and I pick by what the lot is for.
- Forestry mulcher: one pass, mulch left as ground cover, no pile. We offer forestry mulching first because it floats on wet flatwoods where a dozer sinks.
- Dozer and root rake: pulls the roots where a pad or driveway goes. Leaves bare sand, so erosion control matters after.
- Excavator and haul-off: storm blowdown, stumps over 30 inches, lots with no room for mulch.
- Selective work: hand crew with a chainsaw around protected live oaks, cut-stump treatment on camphor and privet.
Our mulchers are a forestry mulcher head on a tracked skid steer and the dedicated 300-hp machine, and we take residential and commercial site prep services on both. Forestry mulching and land clearing are the same trade here, just a different finish.
Palmetto Flatwoods, Trail Ridge Scrub and Live Oak Hammocks: Three Ground Types
Three ground types set the price on this side of Florida. Pine flatwoods: slash pine over saw palmetto and gallberry on spodosol sand, $1,400 to 2,300 an acre by density. Trail Ridge sandhill and scrub at Keystone Heights and Baldwin: longleaf and turkey oak on sugar sand, $1,100 to 1,700, thinner undergrowth and faster. Live oak hammock on the St. Johns, Black Creek and Julington Creek: $2,000 to 3,200, selective, the big oaks kept. Clearing land on the St. Augustine and Flagler coast means Brazilian pepper, which resprouts unless the cut is treated. Palmetto overgrowth is the real work: the root mat sits in the top 6 inches and a rotary cutter just mows it. The mulcher drum grinds the crowns.
Wet Season, Dry Season and Low Lots That Hold Water
June through September adds one day on flatwoods, and it goes in the written price up front. Flatwoods sand sits on hardpan 12 to 30 inches down, so the lot holds water for weeks after summer rain. Land clearing work runs November to May when it can: the lot is dry, the mulcher does not rut, the pad compacts to spec. Once the lot is open, the water the palmetto used to drink goes to the lowest corner, so an overgrown lot that looked dry in March can stand in water in August. I walked it on a parcel off CR 218 in June and the swale was full to the stakes. Florida sand holds a grade about as long as a rumor, which is why the pad gets three roller passes and a grade check.
Land Clearing Cost per Acre in Jacksonville, Free Estimate Included
The sheet, per acre and per day:
- Skid steer forestry mulcher: $2,700 a day, transport included inside Duval, St. Johns, Clay, Nassau, Baker and Flagler north of Palm Coast.
- Dedicated 300-hp mulcher: $4,100 a day plus transport.
- Palmetto and pine flatwoods: $1,400 to 2,300 per acre. Scrub: $1,100 to 1,700. Oak hammock, selective: $2,000 to 3,200.
- Full clearing to dirt with stumps: $2,800 to 5,000 per acre.
- Stump grinding: $4.25 per inch of diameter, $160 minimum. Grubbing: $165 an hour.
- Debris removal services and haul-off: $650 to 1,200 per 10-yard load.
- Pad: rough grade, 12 inches compacted fill above crown of road, quoted per pad.
- Gopher tortoise survey, licensed agent: $400 to 900, before the price is final.
Free estimate on site anywhere in the six counties, and the invoice matches the sheet. Call (904) 406-7990 or pick a walk-through slot on the calendar for a written number.
Wetlands, Tree Permits and Protected Species Before You Clear Your Land
The SJRWMD Environmental Resource Permit is triggered by fill and drainage changes, not by mulching. A wetland still needs delineation under Chapter 62-340 before the mulcher goes near it. Tree permits by county: City of Jacksonville Chapter 656 Part 12 in Duval, St. Johns County LDC Article IV, Clay County LDC permit over 1 acre, the Nassau County tree ordinance, and the City of Palm Coast code: no clearing without a building permit. FWC gopher tortoise: survey within 90 days, no work within 25 feet of a burrow. Bald eagle nests on the St. Johns and Black Creek carry a 660-foot buffer. All of it is in the scope before the price.
Storm Damage and Hurricane Cleanup in Northeast Florida
Storm damage is cleared by the load: $650 to 1,200 per 10-yard load, dump fees in. Irma in 2017 took laurel oaks and slash pine down in every county and pushed Black Creek to 28 feet. On a 2-acre Julington Creek lot after Irma we hauled 11 loads, $9,350. The county picks up public roadside piles; behind your property line it is yours. A mulcher turns downed pine into ground cover in a day, and the standing dead pine that would be fire fuel next spring goes with it.
Where We Clear Land: Jacksonville Property Owners From Orange Park to St. Augustine
Locally owned and operated out of Middleburg in Clay County, transport included across Duval, St. Johns, Clay, Nassau and Baker, and Flagler north of Palm Coast. South Palm Coast, Flagler Beach and Bunnell carry a transport line. County pages: Duval, St. Johns, Clay, Nassau, Flagler, Baker. Community pages: St. Augustine, Nocatee, Ponte Vedra, St. Johns, Julington Creek, Middleburg, Green Cove Springs, Orange Park, Fleming Island, Keystone Heights, Yulee, Fernandina Beach, Callahan, Hilliard, Macclenny, Palm Coast, Bunnell and Baldwin. A Jacksonville land owner and a Fleming Island property owner get the same sheet and the same crew. If you need land clearing anywhere on that list, pick a walk-through slot on the calendar or call (904) 406-7990. I text you the same evening to confirm it.
Questions From Northeast Florida Lot Owners
How much does it cost to clear land in FL?
$1,400 to 2,300 per acre to mulch palmetto flatwoods, $2,800 to 5,000 per acre for a full clear to dirt with the stumps out. A half-acre lot is one day, $2,700. Haul-off, pads and a tortoise survey are separate lines, and the wet season adds a day.
Can I clear my own land in Florida?
Yes, if no protected trees come down and no wetland is filled. The county tree codes and the FWC gopher tortoise rule apply to you the same as to me. A rented brush cutter mows palmetto; it does not grind the root crowns, so it comes back by fall.
What is the cheapest way to clear land?
Of all land-clearing services, mulching in the dry season is the cheapest finish that lasts: one machine, one pass, no pile, no haul. $1,400 to 2,300 per acre on flatwoods. Anything that leaves a burn pile costs more here, because platted lots cannot burn and the loads leave on a truck.
Do I need a permit to clear my lot in Duval County?
In Duval you need a Chapter 656 tree removal permit when trees over 11.5 inches DBH come down on a residential lot. Mulching palmetto and brush under that size needs none. St. Johns and Clay want a permit before the building permit on larger lots. I pull the permit for you, fee at cost.
Full clear to dirt, or mulch everything?
Mulch everything, grub only the pad. Taking it to dirt costs about double per acre and leaves bare sand that washes in the first summer storm. Mulching keeps the root mat and topsoil; the pad still gets the root rake and 12 inches of compacted fill. That is how we clear your land on nine of ten jobs.
What happens to the stumps?
In a yard we grind them, $4.25 per inch of diameter, $160 minimum, chips backfilled into the hole. Under a pad we pull them with the root rake, because a ground stump rots and the slab settles. Call (904) 406-7990 with a count and a rough diameter and I give you a number by text.
