Residential Land Clearing
For yards, home lots, and the space around houses and outbuildings.
Land clearing
Land Clearing Services in Montrose, MI
Trees, brush, stumps and roots removed and the site rough-graded, so the ground is ready for whatever comes next. You deal directly with owner Michael Lee from the first call to the last pass.
Land clearing
Ground you can build on, farm, or finally enjoy.
- Owner-operated since 2019
- Free on-site estimates
- About an hour around Montrose, MI
Buying land in northern Genesee County usually means buying someone else's thirty years of neglect: scrub trees on the spot where the house should go, stumps where the driveway needs to run, brush swallowing the back half of the lot. Land clearing turns that into ground you can build on, farm or actually enjoy. Onyx Land Clearing and Excavation handles residential and commercial land clearing from its base in Montrose, taking out trees, brush, stumps and roots and leaving the site ready for whatever comes next. Whether it's a wooded parcel off M-57 or acreage outside Lapeer, you deal directly with owner Michael Lee from the first call to the last pass. Call (810) 955-4752 for a free estimate.
The work
What Land Clearing Actually Involves
Land clearing is the removal of trees, brush, stumps and root mass from a piece of ground so it can be built on, graded or put back to use. Most jobs start with a lot you can't see across: standing timber, deadfall and root systems that would ruin a foundation, driveway or septic field if they stayed in the ground. The method depends on the goal. For brush and small trees, a forestry mulcher on a Bobcat compact track loader cuts and grinds the material in place. Where a house, pole barn, driveway or drain field is going in, stumps and roots have to come out, so an excavator pulls them and shakes the soil free from the root ball, a step called grubbing. Larger trees are felled and then handled the way your estimate spells out. Once the material is gone, the loader fills stump holes, back-drags the surface and rough-grades it so water drains away from where the building will sit. In Michigan, clearing that disturbs an acre or more, or comes within 500 feet of a lake or stream, generally needs a soil erosion permit, and any digging needs a MISS DIG ticket first. The finished result is open, rough-graded ground that a builder, well driller or concrete crew can start on right away.
Process
Our Land Clearing Process
On-Site Consultation
Michael walks the property with you and asks the question that decides everything else: what is this ground going to be? A house site, a pasture and a view corridor each call for a different level of clearing. He'll locate survey stakes or property corners, flag the trees you want saved, and look at wet areas, slopes and where equipment can get in without tearing up your yard or the road shoulder.
Written Estimate and Clearing Plan
You get a written estimate that separates what gets mulched from what gets grubbed, explains what happens to the wood and debris, and states how the site will be left. Michael also checks whether the project crosses Michigan's soil erosion permit thresholds, and before any stump comes out of the ground, he submits a MISS DIG ticket so buried utilities are marked. Estimates are free, and a third-party financing option is available.
Clear Brush and Small Trees
Work starts with the forestry mulcher, which knocks down brush and saplings and opens the site up so the bigger material can be reached safely. Taking out the small growth first also cuts down how much debris has to be handled later. By the end of this pass, you can see the actual shape of your land, often for the first time since you bought it.
Fell, Grub and Remove Stumps
Trees too large to mulch are dropped in a controlled direction, away from structures, fences and keeper trees. In the footprint of the house, driveway, barn or septic field, the excavator pulls stumps and grubs out the roots so nothing is left to rot and settle under concrete later. Stump holes are backfilled and packed as the work moves across the site.
Rough Grade and Final Walkthrough
The track loader back-drags the cleared area, smooths out ruts and shapes the ground so water moves away from the building site instead of pooling. You walk the property with Michael to confirm everything on the estimate is done. You're left with a clean, open site ready for your builder, surveyor or the next phase of excavation.
Land clearing services
Three Focused Land Clearing Services
Lot & Acreage Clearing
For building lots and larger parcels, field edges and pasture lines.
Brush & Underbrush Clearing
For thick undergrowth when you want the woods cleaned up, not cleared out.
Where we work
Serving Montrose and the Surrounding Area
From Montrose, clearing jobs run in every direction: river lots near Barber Park, farm parcels between Montrose and Chesaning along M-57, new-build lots around Clio and Flushing, and larger wooded tracts across Lapeer County. Michael clears land regularly around Lapeer and Metamora to the east, Lake Orion to the southeast, Owosso to the west and Howell to the south, generally keeping to about an hour of drive time, with multi-day jobs taken farther out. Onyx Land Clearing and Excavation works residential and commercial properties alike.
Two local factors shape how clearing gets done here. The first is the ground: the spring thaw leaves low areas soft for weeks, and heavy equipment on wet ground can rut a site badly, so tracked machines and sensible scheduling keep the damage down. The second is water. The Flint River runs straight through Montrose Township, and many properties in the area sit near creeks, county drains and ponds. Clearing within 500 feet of any of them can require a permit even on a small lot, so that gets checked before a machine is unloaded.
Onyx is a one-owner operation, and that's the point. Michael Lee founded the company in 2019, and he's the one who quotes your job, runs the equipment and walks the finished site with you. You won't be passed between an estimator, a scheduler and a crew who has never seen your property. Get to know Michael and how Onyx does business.
Clearing is also rarely the only thing a property needs. Because the same person handles clearing, stump removal, grading and excavation, there's no gap between contractors where a site sits half-finished waiting for the next company. And if your goal is simply to open up overgrown acreage without pulling stumps, forestry mulching often gets you there for less money.
Doing it by the book protects you. Michigan's Part 91 rules generally require a soil erosion and sedimentation control permit for earth changes of an acre or more or within 500 feet of a lake or stream, and state law requires a MISS DIG notice at least three business days before digging. Michael checks both before work starts, so you don't end up with a stop-work order or a cut gas line.
Straight answers
Land Clearing FAQs
Land clearing cost depends on how heavily wooded the ground is, tree size, whether stumps need to be pulled, what happens to the debris and how easy the site is to reach. Stump removal and root grubbing are usually the biggest cost drivers, which is why clearing a house footprint costs more per acre than mulching a back field. Onyx gives free on-site estimates so you get a real number instead of a range off the internet.
Often, yes. Under Part 91 of Michigan's environmental code, a soil erosion permit is generally required for earth changes that disturb one acre or more or that fall within 500 feet of a lake or stream. In Genesee County, permits come from the county or local enforcing agency, and your township may have its own rules. Any digging also requires a MISS DIG ticket. Michael checks what applies to your property during the estimate.
Forestry mulching grinds brush and small trees in place and leaves the roots in the ground, so it's ideal for trails, fence lines and reclaiming overgrown land. Full land clearing also pulls stumps and roots and rough-grades the site, which you need anywhere a house, driveway, barn or septic system is going in. Many jobs use both: mulching for the outer acreage and grubbing for the building footprint.
Acreage, tree size, stump count and ground conditions all change the timeline. Wet spring ground can slow things down, and the MISS DIG notice adds at least three business days before any digging starts. You'll get a realistic schedule with your estimate.
Late summer through fall is usually ideal, since the ground is firm and the oak wilt risk period (April 15 to July 15) has passed. Frozen winter ground can also work well for heavy clearing because machines don't rut the soil. Spring is the toughest season because of mud, but it's still possible on well-drained sites.
Free estimates
Get a Free Land Clearing Estimate
Whether you're getting a lot ready for a new home or taking back acreage the woods have claimed, call Michael at (810) 955-4752 (Mon–Fri 8 AM–5 PM · Sat 8 AM–3 PM). You can also request your free land clearing estimate online, and he'll set up a time to walk the property.