How much to clear 1 acre of wooded land

Published national ranges run $500–$5,600 per acre, and a genuinely wooded acre usually lands in the upper half of that band. Density is the biggest driver, then slope, access, rock, and what happens to the debris. Those are planning figures, not quotes — a real number takes a site walk, which is free.

Are you picking up the stumps too?

Only if the estimate says so — and that's a question to ask every contractor. Clearing usually means vegetation is down and gone with stumps cut flush; pulling stumps and root balls is grubbing, a separate line item. Our estimates state stump handling explicitly, so you know exactly what you're comparing.

Why are quotes so far apart ($3,500 vs $12,000)?

Because the two contractors almost certainly aren't pricing the same job. One assumes stumps stay, brush burns on site, and you handle permits; the other includes grubbing, haul-off, an erosion-and-sediment plan, and rough grading. Neither is lying — the scopes are different. Insist on itemized quotes and compare line by line.

Can I sell the trees to offset cost?

Sometimes — but don't budget on it. A larger stand of mature hardwood can interest a timber buyer, and on the right lot that offsets a real share of the clearing cost. Most residential lots don't carry enough merchantable volume to bring a logger out. We'll tell you which case yours is on the site walk, before we quote.

Is forestry mulching worth it?

For brush, saplings, and land you're not building on, often yes — the machine grinds everything where it stands, so there's no burn pile, no haul trucks, and the topsoil stays put. If you're clearing for construction, you'll still need grubbing and grading afterward, so conventional clearing is usually the straighter path.

Do I have to call 811 before digging?

Yes — Pennsylvania law requires notifying PA One Call (811) before excavation, with a lead time of 3 to 10 business days, and Act 50 puts enforcement teeth behind it. When you hire us, filing the request and waiting for utility marks is our responsibility, not yours.

Land Clearing in Williamsport & Lycoming County

Lot Clearing for New Builds

Clearing is the first real construction cost on a wooded Lycoming County lot — and the one most building budgets underestimate. We take the lot from standing woods to build-ready: trees felled and removed, brush cleared, stumps grubbed where the house, driveway, and septic will go, and the site rough-graded so it sheds water while it waits for your builder.

The ground here decides how that work goes. Most wooded lots around Williamsport sit on Weikert and Berks channery silt loams — thin, shaley soils where bedrock can be less than 20 inches down and wooded slopes commonly run 25% or steeper. Shallow ledge changes which machines we bring, how cleanly stumps come out, and how the pad gets cut. Once the lot is open, we shape the building pad too — see grading & site preparation.

Brush & Underbrush Removal

Not every clearing job is a building lot. A lot of our work is brush: field edges swallowed by ten years of growth, fence lines you can't walk anymore, camp lots in the northern tier that need to open up before hunting season, pasture gone to saplings. We cut it, clear it, and leave ground you can actually use.

For brush-only jobs where nothing is being built, forestry mulching is often the smarter tool — it grinds everything in place with no burn piles and no hauling. We'll tell you on the walk which approach fits your land and your budget.

Grubbing & Stump Removal — Does Clearing Include Stumps?

Not automatically. "Clearing" and "grubbing" are two different line items, and the gap between them is where most quote confusion starts. Clearing means the vegetation is down and gone, with stumps cut flush to the ground. Grubbing means the stumps and root balls come out and the holes get backfilled and compacted.

If you're building — a house, a garage, a driveway, a septic system — the area under construction needs to be grubbed. If you're opening a view or reclaiming pasture, flush-cut or ground stumps may be all you need, at a real savings. Our estimates state stump handling as its own line so you're never guessing.

Is There Timber Value in Your Trees?

Sometimes — but on most residential lots, honestly, no. A larger stand of mature hardwood on an Appalachian hillside can interest a timber buyer, and on the right property a timber sale offsets a meaningful share of the clearing cost. Scattered yard trees and second growth on a one-to-three-acre building lot rarely carry enough merchantable volume to bring a logger out.

We'll tell you which case yours is during the free site walk. If your trees are worth a call to a timber buyer, you'll hear it from us before we price the job — not after the wood is gone.

What Affects the Per-Acre Price

Published national ranges put land clearing at $500–$5,600 per acre, and where your lot lands in that band comes down to five things. Those are published planning figures, not quotes — the real number takes a walk:

Wide view of a freshly cleared building lot with rough-graded brown earth and a standing hardwood tree line at the back edge — A cleared and rough-graded building lot with the tree line left standing at the back edge.

Density. Light brush sits at the bottom of the range; dense mature woods at the top.
Slope. Wooded hillsides here run 25% and steeper — machines work slower and erosion controls become mandatory.
Access. A lot you can drive a truck onto costs less than one we have to cut a path into.
Rock. Shale ledge under 20 inches of soil is common; published ranges add $200–$1,200+ when rock work enters.
Disposal. What happens to the debris moves the number as much as the cutting does.

The full breakdown — per-acre bands by density, method comparisons, and the quote-variance explainer — is in our Pennsylvania land clearing cost guide.

Pile, Burn, Grind, or Haul — What Happens to the Debris

Debris handling is the quietest driver of a clearing price, so we make you choose it on purpose. Piling on site is cheapest — and stacked brush makes good wildlife cover on camp properties. Burning can work where the township allows it; burn rules differ from municipality to municipality, so we confirm before anyone assumes. Grinding turns the debris into mulch that stays on the land. Hauling off is the cleanest finish and the biggest line item, because trucking and disposal ride on top of the machine time.

Why Fall and Winter Beat Spring for Clearing

The best time to clear land here is when the ground is firm and the vegetation is dormant — roughly mid-October through early May. Firm or frozen ground carries heavy machines without rutting, which protects the topsoil you'll want later for lawn or pasture. With the leaves down, we can see the lot's true shape, and dormant brush doesn't fight back with a summer of regrowth.

There's a scheduling payoff too: Williamsport averages more than 40 inches of precipitation a year, and a lot cleared in fall or winter has settled and stabilized before the spring rains test it. Clear in the off-season and your builder starts on day one of the spring build window instead of waiting on us.

The 5,000-Square-Foot Rule: Erosion & Sediment Plans

Disturb 5,000 square feet or more of earth in Pennsylvania — barely an eighth of an acre — and Chapter 102 requires a written erosion-and-sediment control plan. Disturb an acre or more and an NPDES permit comes into play, administered through the county conservation district. Almost every real clearing job crosses the first threshold, and plenty cross the second.

We build the E&S plan, controls, and any permit costs into the estimate up front, and we file the PA One Call (811) request before any ground is opened — that's our job, not yours. Ready for a number? Call (570) 555-0134 or send the details through our contact page and we'll walk the lot this week.