On this page
- Land Clearing Services in Hilliard, FL
- Lot Clearing for New Homes in Hilliard and Callahan
- Brush Clearing and Forestry Mulching Near Hilliard
- How Much Does Land Clearing Cost in Hilliard?
- Permits, Gopher Tortoises and Drainage Before You Clear in Hilliard
- Land Clearing Services Across Hilliard and Callahan
- Land Clearing FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions from Hilliard Property Owners
Land Clearing Services in Hilliard, FL
Whitfield Clearing & Grading provides land clearing, forestry mulching, lot clearing, brush clearing, stump grinding and site prep across the Hilliard area, from US 1 at CR 108 out CR 121. We are a land clearing company serving residential and commercial properties in Hilliard and the surrounding area, with services throughout the county and the Jacksonville area.
- Timber-lot conversion: cutover and stumps to a buildable footprint.
- Mulching: a land clearing method that uses specialized equipment to grind trees and brush standing, vegetation into mulch on the spot.
- House lots: footprint, drive, septic field, nothing else.
- Brush removal on overgrown land, fence to fence.
- Tree removal and post-storm cleanup.
- Stump grinding: we grind at $4.25 per inch of diameter, $160 minimum a stump.
- Site prep and grading, pad staked and proof-rolled.
Property clearing, land improvement, site work: one price covers the lot. I do not pour concrete, drill wells, set septic or demolish houses; I know people who do.
Lot Clearing for New Homes in Hilliard and Callahan
Hilliard proper issued 20 single-family permits in 2025 with eleven months reported (Census Building Permits Survey); the acreage off US 1, CR 108 and CR 121 is unincorporated and sits inside the county's 768. Buyers are Kings Bay commuters wanting acreage and a pad. Residential land clearing on cutover is different: the pine is gone, the stumps are not, and the palmetto has had five years of sun.
Site preparation runs stakes first: house, drive, septic field, string line. Stumps inside the pad get ground or grubbed; stumps outside it get mulched flush. The pad is quoted per pad, rough grade and 12 inches of compacted fill above crown of road, three roller passes. The 1-acre lot we cleared in Yulee ran $3,900 for the pad on top of a $2,700 day; a pad on cutover prices the same. On a parcel off CR 121 last fall the hardpan sat at 16 inches and the swale had to come first. Professional clearing starts with where the water goes. Have your site plan with you.
Brush Clearing and Forestry Mulching Near Hilliard
Palmetto and gallberry under cutover pine mulch at $1,400 to 2,300 an acre by density, and cutover is the dense end. Five years of sun and the palmetto mat is continuous. The head runs below grade on the second pass or the fronds are back in a year. Live oaks along the St. Marys stay; the county tree ordinance wants them anyway. Mulched in place means a 3-inch chip layer that holds the sand.
Large acreage clearing here means the dedicated 300-hp mulcher: the 12-acre pasture reclaim near Callahan ran three days, $12,300 plus transport, and a timber tract here prices the same way. Areas with dense gallberry take the wet-season extra day, June to September. Selective clearing around oaks is priced by the acre. We can remove brush along a fence line. Cutover will overgrow again in three summers. A professional land clearing service in Hilliard quotes stems and stumps per acre. Mulching will make your property walkable in a day.
How Much Does Land Clearing Cost in Hilliard?
Land clearing costs in Hilliard run $1,400 to 2,300 an acre for palmetto and cutover, $2,800 to 5,000 an acre for full clearing to dirt with stumps out. The total depends on the size of the tract, the stump count and what has to leave the site. Two lines sit at the top of every written price: the FWC gopher tortoise survey on the sandhill ridges, $400 to 900, and the wet-season extra day on flatwoods.
- Skid steer forestry mulcher: $2,700 per day with transport.
- Dedicated 300-hp mulcher: $4,100 per day plus transport.
- Half-acre lot: $2,700, one day. Quarter-acre infill lot: $1,900.
- Root rake or dozer grubbing for stumps: $165 an hour with operator.
- Each 10-yard load hauled off: $650 to 1,200.
- Burn pile on a timber tract: Florida Forest Service authorization, sometimes practical here.
Most land clearing projects here are two to three days with a pad. No surprises on the invoice. Call (904) 406-7990 or pick a walk-through slot on the calendar; the written price is in your texts the same evening.
Permits, Gopher Tortoises and Drainage Before You Clear in Hilliard
Three rules, in order of how often they bite in Hilliard:
- Nassau County Land Development Code: trees 8 inches DBH and up protected outside bona fide agriculture, heritage live oaks at 36 inches, clearing permit before a building permit. Timber under greenbelt classification clears under silviculture BMPs instead; a house lot does not.
- FWC gopher tortoise: on the sandhill ridges toward Boulogne, survey within 90 days, a 25-foot no-work line at every burrow, relocation permit if any are found.
- SJRWMD: clearing alone is not an Environmental Resource Permit trigger; filling a wet spot or changing drainage is. The titi and cypress bays and the St. Marys River bottom stay out of the footprint.
Sunshine 811 gets the call before any excavation so the gas pipeline and power lines are marked. I pull the county paperwork; you sign it.
Land Clearing Services Across Hilliard and Callahan
ZIP 32046 is Hilliard, the CR 108 and CR 121 acreage and the river lots toward Boulogne. Nearby: Callahan down US 1, Bryceville on US 301, Yulee on SR 200. Hilliard, FL and the surrounding area sits inside the included-transport zone. Our crews carry land clearing services across northeast Florida; the land clearing Hilliard owners book is the same crew that works Callahan. The Nassau County page and the Jacksonville metro hub cover the rest.
Land Clearing FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions from Hilliard Property Owners
How much does land clearing cost in Hilliard, FL in 2026?
Palmetto and cutover run $1,400 to 2,300 an acre; full clearing to dirt with stumps $2,800 to 5,000; a half-acre lot is one day, $2,700. Site conditions and the stump count set the number, so the written price follows the site visit.
Do you clear commercial sites?
Yes. Commercial land clearing services cover commercial sites on US 1, full site clearing for a pad, and commercial development tracts that want the 300-hp machine. Commercial properties in Hilliard fall under the same county tree ordinance as houses. Commercial clearing is priced by the day or the acre.
Can I burn the piles on a timber tract?
Often, yes. A Florida Forest Service burn authorization is required for any pile, and on a 10-acre tract off CR 121 it is usually granted. On a platted lot it is not. Mulching is still the cheaper way to clear land because nothing is piled or hauled.
Can you work wet ground?
With a mulcher, yes. It floats on the chip layer it makes; a dozer cuts the hardpan and sinks. Depending on site drainage we add the wet-season day, June to September, and the pad waits for a dry week so the fill compacts.
What does the land clearing process look like, and how do I book?
Site visit, written price, tortoise survey if the ground is sandy, county permit, machine. We walk the property together, and the price is in your texts that evening. Stumps in the landscape beds go last. Pick a walk-through slot on the calendar or call (904) 406-7990.
