Land clearing servicesfor Hill Country land.

Selective or full clearing?

Most land needs some of each. Full clearing makes sense where something is being built: a house pad, a shop, a road, a tank basin or a fence line. Selective clearing makes sense everywhere else, because the trees and cover left standing are worth more than the open ground.

Texas Parks and Wildlife prefers "selective, single-stem removal of cedar" over broad-scale removal where cedar is mixed with plants worth keeping, and suggests a mosaic of about two parts open ground to one part woody cover for deer (TPWD Appendix E). If wildlife matters on your place, say so up front and the clearing gets laid out around it. More in our selective cedar clearing guide.

Oak-safe clearing

The oaks are usually the trees people most want kept, and clearing is one of the ways they get hurt. Oak wilt spreads when sap beetles carry spores to fresh wounds, and then from tree to tree through connected roots.

• The Texas A&M Forest Service says not to prune or wound oaks from February through June, and to cover or paint every wound on an oak, any time of year. "Any kind of paint will accomplish this task" (Texas A&M Forest Service).
• Red oaks such as Spanish and Shumard oak are "extremely susceptible". Live oaks are less so, but they suffer most because their roots join up (Identify and Manage Oak Wilt in Texas).
• Inside San Antonio and its ETJ the city asks for oak pruning to be kept to a minimum from February 1 to July 1, and for cuts and wounds to be painted no more than 30 minutes after they happen (City of San Antonio).

So the work around oaks is planned for the right months where possible, machines keep off the trees, and any wound gets painted on the spot. The oak wilt guide has the detail.

What happens to the brush

Burning cleared brush on site is allowed in Texas under conditions. TCEQ says "you may also burn brush from on-site land clearing" under certain conditions, and never during a burn ban or a red flag warning (TCEQ GI-415). The general rules include:

• Burn outside city limits, unless the city's ordinance allows it.
• Stay downwind of, or at least 300 feet from, any neighboring building with people in it, unless the occupant agrees in writing first.
• Do not start if the wind is forecast under 6 mph or over 23 mph.
• Light no earlier than an hour after sunrise and finish the same day, no later than an hour before sunset.
• Someone attends the fire the whole time it is actively burning.

Those rules are summarized by Texas A&M AgriLife. When a county burn ban is on, the piles are stacked and wait, or the brush is hauled off. Read burning brush piles during a burn ban for the options.

Permits and rules to check first

A few rules decide whether you need paperwork before clearing. We do not make legal calls on your land, but we do know which office to ask.

• San Antonio tree ordinance. It covers private property in the city limits and the ETJ. Permits or affidavits are needed before clearing vegetation. Ashe juniper, mesquite and huisache count as significant at 10 inches on one trunk (City of San Antonio FAQ).
• Helotes tree permit. The city asks for an application with a tree survey of protected and heritage trees (City of Helotes).
• Edwards Aquifer rules. In Bexar, Medina and Comal counties a TCEQ plan can be needed before soil is disturbed. Clearing vegetation without soil disturbance and agricultural activities are listed exclusions (30 TAC 213.3).

The permit guide and the Edwards Aquifer guide go through each one.