Cleared limestone slope with a stand of cedar left at the edge

Land clearing & forestry mulching in Austin, TX

Land clearing contractors in Austin, TX

For acreage owners, builders and ranch managers on both sides of the Balcones Escarpment, from the cedar hills off Loop 360 and RM 620 to the prairie ground out toward Manor and Del Valle.

Get a free estimate (512) 890-2555

Free on-site estimates
Mon–Sat, 8:00am–5:00pm

Austin is a city split down the middle by geology. The Balcones Escarpment runs north to south through town, close enough to I-35 that locals use the highway as shorthand for the line. West of it you’re on the Edwards Plateau: limestone hills, soil that barely covers the rock and Ashe juniper crowding the live oaks. East of it, the Blackland Prairie flattens into deep black clay that swells after rain and cracks open in drought.

Barton Springs pushes water out of the Edwards Aquifer at Zilker Park, nearly on the seam. So land clearing in Austin starts with one question: which side of the line is your property on? Tracts near Loop 360 and the Barton Creek Greenbelt can even carry both kinds of ground on one property.

Whichever side yours is on, Jordan LaVine walks it before a number goes on paper.

Communities we work in Austin

Westlake Hills
Barton Creek
Bee Cave
Lakeway
Steiner Ranch
Dripping Springs
Driftwood
Manor
Hornsby Bend
Del Valle
Webberville
Pflugerville

What the work looks like, west and east

On the west side it’s build sites, driveway and pad prep through surface limestone, and cedar removal to free mature live oaks around Westlake, Barton Creek, Lost Creek and out past Bee Cave.

On the east side it’s pasture reclamation, mesquite grubbing, fence lines and site prep along the SH-130 corridor near Giga Texas and the Whisper Valley community by Manor. Growth lands on raw acreage first, and clearing is the first trade on the ground.

City trees, warblers and oak wilt

Inside city limits the tree ordinance (19 inches protected, 24 inches heritage for listed species) comes with a critical root zone that runs a foot of radius per inch of trunk, so where a machine parks matters as much as what it cuts. Bee Cave, Lakeway and unincorporated Travis County have their own rules, so we confirm jurisdiction parcel by parcel.

Mature Ashe juniper in juniper-oak woodland is the only nesting habitat the endangered golden-cheeked warbler uses, and it can’t be disturbed from March 1 through August 31. Oak wilt is endemic too, so we follow Texas A&M Forest Service guidance: no wounding oaks February through June, and every wound painted right away.

Services in Austin

What we do on Austin land

Every Crosscut service is available here. The machine that shows up gets decided on the owner walk-through.

Getting there

From our Bertram shop to Austin

Crosscut runs Austin work out of Bertram, about an hour northwest of downtown up US-183 and SH-29. From there we work the hill corridors off Loop 360, RM 2222, RM 620 and Bee Cave Road, US-290 and FM 1826 toward Dripping Springs and Driftwood, and US-290 and SH-130 east through Manor, Hornsby Bend, Del Valle, Webberville and surrounding areas.

Book a walk-through: (512) 890-2555

Why Crosscut

Why Austin landowners call us

1
An owner walks the lot first
A narrow hill lot off a switchback road above Lake Austin takes planning a satellite estimate can’t do, so Jordan sees it first.
2
Both sides of I-35
A limestone lot off RM 620 and clay pasture past Manor need different machines and different timing. We plan for the ground you actually have.
3
The rules go into the plan
Protected and heritage tree sizes, warbler nesting season and oak wilt timing are built into the schedule before equipment shows up, not discovered mid-job.
4
A machine sized to the lot
The Timberpro TL725C reaches over drainages on steep, tight hill lots, and the Tigercat M726G takes dense cedar on open acreage. Hand crews finish around the oaks.

Reviews

Landowners say it better than we do

“From numerous phases of selective vegetation clearing to strategic trenching for oak wilt management and most recently some meticulously selective clearing to enhance the view from our living area window. Every move they make is done so with purpose and precision.”
Brad B.Ranch ownerGoogle review
“They completed both mulching and hand-clearing work on my 7-acre property in Blanco, and the transformation is incredible. They took the time to understand my goals, communicated throughout the project, and treated my property with care and respect.”
Thomas W.Blanco, TXGoogle review
“He was extremely careful around my mature pine trees while making roads through the forest, clearing brush, cleaning out hunting sites for visibility and even a beautiful circular home plot site. I was also very impressed with the chainsaw work of ground crew.”
Max J.Google review

Clearing land in Austin: common questions

Still wondering about your property? An owner will answer it on site.

(512) 890-2555

Do I need a permit to clear land inside Austin city limits?

Often, yes. Any tree 19 inches or more in diameter, measured 4.5 feet up, is protected and needs a Tree Ordinance Review Application through the City Arborist Program. Live oak, pecan, Texas ash and bald cypress become heritage trees at 24 inches, and removing one takes a variance that’s rarely granted.

Why does it matter which side of the Balcones Escarpment my land is on?

It decides what the machine hits. West of the line, limestone sits inches to a couple of feet down under cedar. East of it, deep Blackland clay grows mesquite and huisache and turns soft after rain. Different ground, different equipment, different timing.

Can you clear land near the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve?

We work near it, carefully. The golden-cheeked warbler nests only in mature Ashe juniper in juniper-oak woodland, and those trees are often 50 to 100 years old. Disturbing that habitat takes a permit at any time of year and isn’t allowed March 1 through August 31, so we confirm status before anything moves.

Do you work Del Valle, Manor and the SH-130 corridor?

Yes, regularly. Out there it’s Blackland Prairie, so the work is mostly mesquite and huisache reclamation, fence lines and site prep rather than rock breaking, from Manor and Hornsby Bend to Del Valle, Webberville and Elgin.

What’s involved in a driveway through limestone off RM 2222 or Loop 360?

Rock work from the first few feet. We crush the surface limestone and caliche in place, and on many of these lots that crushed rock becomes the driveway base, so less spoil goes out and less gravel comes in.

When is the cleanest window to clear around Austin oaks?

Mulching works year round, but around oaks or possible warbler habitat, late summer through winter is cleanest: it misses the February to June oak wilt window and the March 1 to August 31 nesting season.

Nearby

Also working near Austin

See every county and city we work

Walk your Austin land with an owner

Free on-site estimate. Straight plan, fair price, before a machine rolls in.