Land Clearing in Montgomery, TX: Lot, Brush and Forestry Mulching Services
Montgomery, TX is loblolly pine over yaupon on sand, with post oak on the ridges and Lake Conroe at the bottom of every road. A 77316 or 77356 lot is usually an acre or more, bought for the trees, and the job is to clear the yaupon and keep the pines. The Census counted 270 single-family permits here in 2025. Turner Land & Pine runs land clearing services across the greater Houston metro, and the Hwy 105 corridor west of Conroe is on it. Skid steer mulcher, $3,000 a day, transport included. Half an acre of yaupon is one day. Call (713) 587-6978 or send three photos of your acreage. Janine will have a number back to you by tomorrow.
LOCAL FIELD GUIDE
Land Clearing Services in Montgomery
Seven kinds of ground work. One number to start with.
Around here the work is selective clearing nine times out of ten. Lake Conroe acreage gets bought for the pines, so land clearing projects here mean taking out yaupon, sweetgum saplings and the leaning pines, and keeping the straight ones. Montgomery County pulled 11,597 single-family permits in 2025 per the Census Building Permits Survey, second in the metro, and the lake subdivisions off FM 1097 and FM 149 take their share. Residential land clearing provides land clearing crews a year-round season on sand, because sand drains in a day where clay takes a week.
What we do: lot clearing, brush removal, tree removal of leaners and storm-snapped pine, stump grinding, understory mulching, storm cleanup, and rough grading for a pad. Commercial land clearing services for commercial sites along Hwy 105 bring the big mulcher and a haul truck at $600 to $1,200 a load; commercial clearing for a commercial development means bare sand and the pines hauled as logs. On residential and commercial properties you choose selective clearing or full site clearing, and on the lake nearly everyone chooses selective. Professional clearing under pine has one operator rule: a loaded mulcher kills a pine it never touches if it runs over the roots inside the dripline, so the keepers get flagged and the machine works the lanes between them. Our land clearing services in Montgomery are woods work on sand, not prairie work on clay, and the day rate is the same. I do not pour concrete, install septic or demolish houses. I know people who do. Tell Janine which trees you want to keep.
Land clearing
Brush, timber, stumps, and a clear route to the next job.
Forestry mulching
Grind brush in place. Keep the soil covered.
Lot clearing
Open the ground for a home, shop, or building pad.
Brush & underbrush
Keep the good trees. Cut the growth between them.
Stump grinding
The tree is gone. Finish the job below ground.
Site prep & dirt work
Grade the pad. Watch the water. Build on sound ground.
Tree clearing
Pine, hardwood, and wooded acreage. Plan what stays.
Lot Clearing for New Homes in Montgomery and Conroe
Field Sketch, one-acre wooded lot in Conroe, TX: loblolly pine understory cleared, 14 pines kept, house pad roughed in. We cleared it in two days for $6,800, and the sketch and the invoice are on the page. A lake lot here runs the same way. The land clearing process: 811 locate, since a pipeline easement crosses the county south of Hwy 105, tag the 14 or 20 pines you keep, grind the yaupon and sweetgum, grade the pad. Let a lot overgrow three summers under pine and the yaupon is 10 feet and solid, and the price moves from light to medium.
Lake Conroe and the West Fork of the San Jacinto set the FEMA floodplain here, and inside it Montgomery County wants a development permit before dirt moves. Site preparation for a slab on sand means grading the pad 12 to 18 inches above base flood elevation and compacting in lifts, because loose sand settles under a slab and cracks it. Drainage on a sloped lake lot is about slowing water down, not moving it, so the mulch stays on the slope and the swale runs along the contour. We do rough grading and swales. Deep excavation and septic trenching go to someone else. By the second afternoon the pines you kept throw long shadows on a clean pad. Send Janine the survey and the pad plan together.
Brush Clearing and Forestry Mulching Near Montgomery
Forestry mulching is a land clearing method that uses specialized equipment to grind trees, brush and vegetation into mulch where they stand, with no burn pile and no haul-off. Under pine that is the only sane way to clear overgrown land: Montgomery County goes under a burn ban most dry summers, TCEQ outdoor burning rules apply the rest of the year, and nobody wants a brush fire a hundred yards from a lake house. The pine mulch also holds the sand on a slope through the first hard rain.
On our jobs in Montgomery we see yaupon in areas with dense pine canopy come back from the root crown within a season, so the last pass grinds the crowns an inch under the sand. Janine answers the phone. I answer for the work. The skid steer does 1 to 3 acres a day and eats anything under 8 inches, which covers nearly all the yaupon and sweetgum on a lake lot. The big mulcher is 11 feet wide, eats anything, and does 4 to 8 acres a day on bigger tracts toward Richards. Wet ground adds a day even on sand, and the lake side of a lot stays wet longest. We remove brush, leave it mulched in place, and leave the site with a 2 to 3 inch layer a landscape crew can plant through. Call Janine with your lot number and she will slot the machine.
How Much Does Land Clearing Cost in Montgomery?
Numbers first. The lot decides the final price.
Land clearing costs in Montgomery run $1,500 to $2,000 an acre for light yaupon under pine, $2,500 to $3,500 for medium thickets with small pine, and $4,000 and up for dense timber or a clear-cut with haul-off. Mulching alone is $1,000 to $2,500 an acre depending on site density, and under pine it is the cheapest way to clear land because nothing leaves. Stump grinding is $150 to $400 per stump by diameter; pine grinds clean and sits low, a post oak stump sits high. A lot full of stumps is priced by the day. The minimum trip charge is $1,200 to $1,500 for one machine and one short day. Site prep and pad grading are their own line.
The total depends on the size of the lot, how many pines stay, and whether anything leaves. Large acreage clearing over 20 acres gets a site visit; on a wooded tract I want to walk the lanes before I quote them. A professional land clearing service names the day rate before the lowboy leaves the yard; a clearing service that quotes by the hour is selling you the machine, not the lot. This town and the other six counties come off the same sheet; the trees change and the price per day does not. The land clearing FAQs page carries the frequently asked questions on permits, burning and timing. Call (713) 587-6978 or send three photos and the address. Janine prices every project from that sheet.
Skid steer mulcher
Per day. Transport included. Trees under 8 inches.
Dedicated mulcher
Per day. Transport is additional. Large timber and dense ground.
Changes the day
Access, moisture, and what must leave the lot change the real number.
Serving Montgomery ZIP Codes 77316 and 77356 and Nearby Conroe, Willis, Magnolia and Lake Conroe
Our equipment yard is in Hockley. Send the address and Janine will confirm the route.
Turner Land & Pine is a land clearing company serving Montgomery, TX and the surrounding area from our yard in Hockley, Waller County, up FM 1486 or across on Hwy 105. The same insured crews cover Conroe, Willis, Magnolia and the whole Lake Conroe shore, run our land clearing service in Montgomery and the Montgomery area, and on the south loop reach Fulshear, Katy, Brookshire and Cypress. Search land clearing Montgomery and you reach the same yard.
Property owners near Montgomery clear pine and yaupon on sand, not the prairie tallow of Fort Bend County clay, and a wooded acre runs a bracket above a West Houston acre because pine is timber. Property clearing for pasture toward Dobbin, land improvement on a horse place off FM 149, commercial properties in Montgomery or a pad in Willis: we offer land clearing services throughout seven counties, from the Southeast Texas prairie to the East Texas pine line, and on-site estimates on any acreage are free in the Houston area. Give Janine your ZIP and she will tell you the week a crew is on the lake.
Request a Free On-Site Estimate
Call (713) 587-6978 or send three photos of your lot and the address. Janine will have a number back to you by tomorrow, usually within the hour. If the site conditions include a slope to the lake or pines you are unsure about, I will come look for free anywhere inside greater Houston. Tell me what you want to make your property into and I will tell you the day count. Site work past the pad, I know people. On a lake lot I walk the property with you and number the pines you keep on the sketch.
Tell Janine about your lot.
The address. The growth. Three honest photos.
Design preview. This form does not send or store information until a backend is connected.
Plain answers.
If your question is about wet ground, Janine will ask me.
How much does it cost to clear land in Texas?
Light brush can start around $1,500–$2,000 per acre. Dense wooded tracts often run $4,000 or more per acre. Our skid steer mulcher rate is $3,000 per day with transport included. Photos help narrow the number.
How long does a half-acre take?
Often one machine-day for light brush and small trees. Wet ground, mature timber, old fencing, and narrow access can add time. I want to see the gate and the thickest part before I promise a day.
Do I need a permit to clear my lot?
It depends on the address and scope. Grading, floodplain work, drainage changes, wetlands, and local tree rules can trigger approvals. We check the jurisdiction before any regulated dirt work begins.
What happens to the brush?
Forestry mulching leaves chips on the ground. Full clearing can include piles or haul-off when the next use needs a different finish. Tell us whether you want mulch, a clean pad, or both.
Who answers the request?
Janine reads the web forms and handles the schedule. She usually responds within the hour during working hours. Hollis reviews the ground and takes responsibility for the scope and number.