Forestry Mulching and Land Clearing in Port St. Lucie, FL: Lot, Brush and Palmetto Clearing
The lots here are slash pine and palmetto on platted GDC plats, with Brazilian pepper in every ditch between them. Brazilian pepper was somebody's hedge once. Now it is everybody's ditch. The ground is flatwoods sand over hardpan, dry in March and holding water by July. Lots run a quarter acre on the canals to five acres west of I-95. Our crews come across SR 70 from Punta Gorda, so transport is one quoted line. Send the form or call (352) 619-3597. Brandi texts you a scheduling window within an hour.
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Forestry Mulching and Brush Clearing on GDC Lots Near Port St. Lucie
A quarter-acre GDC lot is one skid steer day, and the lot comes out as a 3-inch mulch bed instead of bare sand. Forestry mulching is a land clearing method that uses specialized equipment to grind trees, palmetto and vegetation into mulch where they stand. The head cuts an inch below grade and takes the palmetto crowns, which a bush hog never does. Brazilian pepper gets cut-stump herbicide within minutes of the cut or it is back by October. Areas with dense pepper carry the $500-an-acre surcharge. Overgrown land under good pine gets selective clearing, the straight slash pine kept and the rest mulched in place. Professional clearing on these lots is mostly pepper work and knowing where the swale runs. Send the lot address.
Our Land Clearing Services, FL Lot to Acreage
Pellegrino Land Works provides land clearing as a professional land clearing service for residential and commercial properties. The services in Port St. Lucie, listed:
- Lot clearing and site prep for a pad, mulched or taken to dirt.
- Residential land clearing on acreage west of the Turnpike, pad to dirt, the rest mulched.
- Commercial land clearing services and property clearing for commercial properties in Port St. Lucie metro corridors along US 1 and Gatlin Boulevard, full site clearing to dirt.
- Stump grinding, $4.50 an inch, $150 minimum per stump.
- Tree removal of dead pine and storm leaners, with cleanup.
- Brush removal and bush hogging, $65 to 95 an acre, $450 minimum.
- Grubbing with the dozer and root rake at $170 an hour. Landscape clearing around a standing house.
Not on the list: concrete, wells, septic, house demolition. I know people who do. Every project gets one written price before the trailer leaves.
Lot Clearing for New Homes in Tradition and on GDC Lots
The city issued 2,814 single-family permits in 2025 by the Census Building Permits Survey, most of them on GDC lots and in Tradition west of I-95. The land clearing Port St. Lucie builders order most is a quarter-acre infill lot at $1,800 flat plus transport, or a half-acre at one skid steer day, $2,600 plus transport. A GDC lot sits low, so the pad comes up after clearing and the grading has to leave the front swale open to the drainage district canal. Fill in a wet spot is what brings in SFWMD; the clearing itself never does. On our jobs here the June water line sets the pad height, and I mark it on the site visit. Milton's October 2024 tornadoes left broken pine across the north side; those lots get a tree removal line. Send the lot size and the start date.
How Much Does Land Clearing Cost on a GDC Lot?
Land clearing costs on pine and palmetto flatwoods run $1,500 to 2,500 an acre for mulching, by density, with $500 an acre added where Brazilian pepper is thick. The sheet:
- Skid steer mulcher: $2,600 a day, transport from Punta Gorda quoted separately. Stems to 8 inches.
- 300-hp mulcher for large acreage clearing: $4,000 a day plus transport.
- Coastal scrub on the ridge: $1,200 to 1,800 an acre.
- Full clearing to dirt with stumps: $3,000 to 5,500 an acre.
- Haul-off: $700 to 1,300 per 10-yard load.
The total depends on the size of the stems and the pepper count. Two items come before any price: a gopher tortoise survey, $400 to 900, which the city requires per lot, and one extra day from June to September when the hardpan is full. The cheapest way to clear a GDC lot is still mulching, one machine and zero loads. Call (352) 619-3597 with the lot size and I will quote it depending on site conditions after I walk the property.
Permits, Gopher Tortoises and Drainage Before You Clear Land Here
The city issues a per-lot vegetation removal permit with the gopher tortoise survey attached; outside the limits the St. Lucie County Vegetation Removal Permit and Native Tree Protection rules apply. That is step one of the land clearing process. Step two is the FWC side of the tortoise rule: survey within 90 days, flag the burrows, no work within 25 feet without a relocation permit. Water is step three. SFWMD does not regulate clearing, but filling a wet lot or changing drainage triggers the ERP under Ch. 62-330, and the Savannas edge is wetland by the Ch. 62-340 delineation. Florida scrub-jay territories along the Savannas bring FWS consultation. On the ROW we flagged burrows every morning before the machines moved. Send the parcel ID.
Land Clearing Services Across the Treasure Coast From the Punta Gorda Yard
We are a land clearing company serving Tradition, FL and the surrounding area, with transport across SR 70 written on the estimate as one line. That covers Tradition and the acreage west of the Turnpike, Fort Pierce and Lakewood Park to the north, Jensen Beach and Palm City across the Martin County line. Our services throughout Southeast Florida run the same way. Pipeline and FPL easements too; that was ten years of my life. The land clearing service in Port St. Lucie area lots runs November to May at its best. Send the form with your town in it.
Land clearing near Port St. Lucie
Nearby city pages
Request a Free On-Site Estimate on Your Lot
Call (352) 619-3597 or send the form with the lot address and what you want it for. Brandi texts you a scheduling window within the hour. I walk the lines, mark the swale and any burrows, count the pepper, and write one price with transport on it. On the set day, our insured crews make your property ready for the pad and leave it clean. Most land clearing projects here are done in a day.
Land Clearing FAQs From Treasure Coast Property Owners
Do I need a tortoise survey for a quarter-acre lot?
Yes. The city ties its per-lot vegetation permit to a gopher tortoise survey by a licensed agent, $400 to 900, done within 90 days of clearing. If burrows turn up, an FWC relocation permit comes before the machine. Most GDC lots have none, and the survey still has to say so.
Can you clear a lot in August?
Yes, with one extra day in the quote from June to September. The mulcher rides on its tracks and the mat, but a lot with standing water stops the work until it drains. We leave the site with the swale running, and grading holds for a dry week.
Do you handle commercial sites along US 1?
Yes. Commercial clearing there is full site work to dirt, $3,000 to 5,500 an acre, with excavation and the pad by your site contractor. Commercial development gets the same written price as a homesite. We remove brush, grind the stumps, haul the loads and hand off a staked-ready site.
Will the pepper come back after you mulch it?
Not if the stumps are treated the same hour, which is how our crews run it. Mulched pepper with untreated stumps will overgrow the lot again in two seasons. The $500-an-acre surcharge pays for the herbicide and the extra time at each stump.
How soon can a crew get to my lot?
About two weeks in the dry season, since the machines come from Punta Gorda, and longer in summer. Brandi texts a window within an hour of your form. Call (352) 619-3597 if a builder is waiting. The frequently asked questions on site preparation and land improvement are covered above.
Get Your Free Estimate
Send the form or call. Brandi texts you a scheduling window within the hour.