Cedar clearing, Helotes

Cedar clearing in Helotes,oaks kept.

Ashe juniper thinned or cleared off Helotes acreage and homesites, with the live oaks marked and kept, the city's tree survey handled first and the brush dealt with the legal way.

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Cedar clearing
Bexar County
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Cedar clearing, Helotes

Cedar on the edge of the Hill Country

Helotes sits where Helotes Creek leaves the Hill Country, and the land around it is cedar and oak country. Left alone, Ashe juniper closes in on homesites and pasture, crowds the oaks and blocks the view.

Clearing cedar here is mostly about what stays: the live oaks, the shade near the house, the screen from the road. The rest comes out to a plan you agree on before the machine starts.

Highlander Construction is based in Helotes, so this is home work. Call and tell us about your land.

Local detail

What changes for cedar work in Helotes

The tree survey comes first

Inside the City of Helotes, the tree removal application asks for "a complete tree survey that shows the location, diameter, and name of all protected and heritage trees" (City of Helotes). Development Services can be reached at 210-695-5901. Land just outside town may sit in San Antonio's ETJ, where the San Antonio ordinance counts Ashe juniper as significant at 10 inches on one trunk (City of San Antonio).

Cut cedar stays cut

Ashe juniper does not resprout from its roots once it is cut (TPWD Appendix E). A thinned stand stays thinned apart from new seedlings, so a light follow-up every few years keeps it open.

The oaks around it

The Texas A&M Forest Service says not to wound oaks from February through June and to paint every wound on an oak (Texas A&M Forest Service). Cedar work beside live oaks is planned around that window.

Brush near town

Inside city limits brush is hauled unless the city allows burning (AgriLife). Outside town, the TCEQ conditions and any Bexar County ban apply, so check the burn ban map before a burn.

Questions

Cedar clearing questions: Helotes

Not sure if we handle it? Call and ask.

(830) 328-3684 mullins840@gmail.com

Do I need a permit to clear cedar in Helotes?

Inside the City of Helotes, the tree removal application asks for a tree survey of protected and heritage trees. Call Development Services at 210-695-5901 to confirm for your lot. Outside the city, ask whether you are in the San Antonio ETJ.

Will the cedar grow back after you clear it?

Cut Ashe juniper does not resprout from the stump. New seedlings come up over the years, so a light follow-up keeps the land open.

Can you take the cedar and leave the oaks?

Yes. Oaks and other keepers are marked first and the clearing works around them, with no wounds on oaks from February through June.

Can you also clear the rest of the lot or build the pad?

Yes. See land clearing in Helotes and excavation in Helotes.

On the job

Photos from our work

Real photos from Highlander Construction jobs. Captions say what each shows. More in recent work.

Fresh clearing seen from a machine cab, with track marks, pushed brush and dead trees along the edge — Clearing, from the cab

Cleared ground under a stand of oak trees that were kept — Cleared ground, oaks kept

Cleared ground along a tree line, with a big oak left standing — Cleared to the tree line

Brush pile burning on a land clearing job beside a live oak — Brush pile burn on a clearing job

Selective cedar clearing in the Hill Country.

What TPWD and AgriLife say to keep, when to clear, the warbler question and the water claims to ignore.

Read the guide

Guide

Do you need a permit to clear land here?

Tree ordinances, the Helotes survey, Edwards Aquifer plans, floodplains and who to call.

Read the guide

Guide

Oak wilt and clearing: protecting your oaks.

How oak wilt spreads, the February to June rule, painting wounds and San Antonio's oak rules.

Read the guide

Sources

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