An acre of yaupon, sweetgum saplings and pine volunteers turns into a wall in three East Texas summers. The jobs run from opening a fence line wide enough for the fence crew to work, to stripping a wooded lot to dirt before a slab is poured, to pushing back a pasture edge or a pond bank.
A chainsaw and a chipper handle the small jobs; the larger ones get a skid steer with a mulching head on the front. Single large trees on the lot are priced as tree removal, stumps can be ground or left, and the debris is chipped on site, piled for burning where the county allows it, or hauled.
What a lot and land clearing job involves
- Fence line and property line clearing
- Building site clearing for new homes, shops and pools
- Overgrown lot, yaupon and privet removal
- Thinning that flags the oaks and pines worth keeping and takes out everything else
- Debris chipped, piled or hauled
What's included
- Walk of the lot to mark keepers, lines and hazards before any cutting
- Keeper trees flagged and worked around, not nicked by the mulcher
- Burn-ban status checked with the county before any pile is planned
- Fence line or pad left clear to the line you mark, corners visible
Optional or not included
- Stump grinding or pulling, an optional line
- Grading, fill, drainage or dirt work
- Permits and burn-ban checks, which stay in the owner's name
Clearing around Tyler
Most clearing calls come from outside the loop: Flint, Bullard, Whitehouse, Lindale, the lake lots on Lake Tyler and Lake Palestine, and the acreage tracts toward Jacksonville. Three East Texas summers turn an unmowed acre into a wall of yaupon, privet, sweetgum saplings and volunteer pine, and the job is either opening a fence line, taking a building site to bare ground, or thinning a wooded lot so the good oaks and pines stay.
Burning the piles is not a given. Smith County issues burn bans in dry spells, one ran from mid-August 2026, and while a ban is in force any outdoor burning is prohibited and carries a fine; the Fire Marshal's office at 903-590-2655 is the number to check before any pile is lit, ban or no ban. When burning is off the table the brush is chipped on site or hauled, and that is priced into the estimate.
Two more checks before the mulcher arrives. A lot inside a mapped floodplain can need a permit from the city engineer or the county before it is cleared or graded, and a lot in the city where clearing touches the street strip involves the right-of-way rules. Neither takes long to ask about, and both are cheaper to ask about than to fix afterwards.
Lot and Land Clearing pricing in Tyler
Lot clearing runs $1,500 to $5,000 per acre in the Tyler area, set by how thick the growth is, how many real trees have to come down rather than be mulched, and what happens to the debris. Chipping on site is the cheapest disposal, hauling the most expensive, and burning sits between them when the county allows it.
Fence lines and small building pads are quoted by the job rather than the acre, often a few hundred to a couple of thousand dollars. Stumps can be ground, pulled or left, and each choice is a separate line on the written estimate, so you see what the bare-ground option costs against the cheaper cut-and-mulch.
Full price list and what moves the price →
Related: Tree Permits, Storm Cleanup and Debris Rules in Tyler, Tree service in Whitehouse, Tree service in Lindale. Official page: City of Tyler.
Lot and Land Clearing questions, answered
How much does it cost to clear an acre of land in East Texas?
Between $1,500 and $5,000 per acre for typical growth, depending on density, tree size and disposal. Light brush and saplings mulched in place sit at the low end; a wooded acre with mature pines that have to be felled, stumped and hauled sits at the top. Selective clearing that keeps the good trees costs more per acre than a clean sweep, because every keeper has to be worked around.
Do I need a permit to clear land in Smith County?
Outside the city limits there is usually no clearing permit for a private lot, but a lot in a mapped floodplain can need a permit before grading or clearing, and burning the debris is only allowed when the county has no burn ban in force. Inside the city, work that touches the street strip involves the right-of-way rules. The estimate visit is the place to sort out which applies to your lot.
Can I burn the brush pile after clearing?
Only when Smith County is not under a burn ban, and the county issues one whenever a dry spell sets in; one ran from mid-August 2026. Under a ban any outdoor burning is prohibited and carries a fine. The Fire Marshal's office answers the question for any given week, and when burning is off, the brush is chipped where it stands or hauled, both of which are on the estimate.