Free tool
Land clearing assessment
10 plain questions about what is growing, what the ground is for and where it is. The result names the method that fits, lists the answers that decided it and says what to do next.
Your land, in 10 answers
Your result
Answer the questions and the result appears here.
Each answer is matched against fixed rules, and the result lists the answers that decided it.
How the result is decided
The rules run in a fixed order, and the first one that matches decides the result. Safety comes first: trees near a power line go to the utility, because Texas Health and Safety Code chapter 752 keeps people and equipment at least 6 ft from high-voltage lines, and Denton Municipal Electric clears its own lines. A tree that could fall on a house is a certified arborist's job.
Permits come next. A creek, drainage channel or floodplain, or large hardwoods inside Denton or a town with its own tree rules, means the city or county should be asked before the method is chosen. The City of Denton protects post oaks 6 in. across or more as heritage trees and requires a clearing and grading permit unless the work is exempt; the Town of Argyle protects listed species from 3 in.
Then the use of the ground decides. Land for a slab, driveway or pad needs clearing and grubbing, because roots left in place rot and settle. Keeping the best trees points to selective clearing. Grass and soft brush can be brush hogged. Brush and small trees on land that stays open suit forestry mulching.
The result is a planning guide, not an inspection: it does not judge tree health, soil or what is under the ground. To put a number on the method, try the land clearing cost calculator.
Get an estimate for your land
A walk of the property confirms the method, marks the trees that stay and lists the permits before any machine arrives.