Land clearing in Gillespie County starts with reading the ground. The county sits on the Edwards Plateau, where shallow, clayey soils cover the limestone hills and deeper ground follows the Pedernales River and the larger creeks. Live oak, shin oak, cedar and native browse often share the same ranch, so one tract outside Fredericksburg can need three different approaches.
Most of what we do here is ranch and Hill Country acreage: homesites and drives near Fredericksburg and Stonewall, cedar crowding pasture and oaks around Harper and Doss, and fence lines, ranch roads and wildlife openings on the bigger places. Jordan LaVine walks the property with you before anything is priced.
Communities we work in Gillespie County
- Fredericksburg
- Stonewall
- Harper
- Doss
- Willow City
- Luckenbach
- Blumenthal
- Albert
- Cherry Spring
Limestone hills and Pedernales bottoms
Up on the hills the soil is shallow and clayey over limestone, and it washes quickly once it’s bare. That’s why forestry mulching, which leaves a protective layer on the ground, fits so much Gillespie County work.
Down along the Pedernales River and the major creeks the soil runs deeper and carries more grass and pasture. That ground clears, drains and recovers differently, so we plan it as its own piece of the job.
One ranch, several different jobs
A ranch road, a homesite, a fence line and a wildlife opening each need a different approach, often on the same property. The Tigercat M726G suits open, cedar-heavy acreage, the Timberpro TL725C and the Cat D1 dozer mulcher handle steep, rocky or tight spots, and hand crews do chainsaw work around the oaks you’re keeping.
Permits, oak wilt and burn bans
Requirements depend on the parcel. City limits, floodplain, protected-tree and watercourse rules can all apply, so confirm current requirements with the relevant local authority and tell us what you’re planning when we walk the land.
With this much live oak and shin oak, we follow Texas A&M Forest Service oak wilt guidance: no wounding oaks February through June, and any wound painted right away. Mulching doesn’t depend on a burn window, so a county burn ban doesn’t stall the work.