Forestry Mulching
Forestry mulching turns brush, saplings and small trees into a layer of wood chip mulch on site. We cover Jackson, Union and Williamson counties from our base in Cobden.
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Blackburn Land Service handles trail cutting around Cobden and across Southern Illinois. You have woods at the back of your place and no clean way in. Maybe there was a path once, and now it is a wall of brush and saplings. We run a tracked skid steer with a forestry mulching head. It grinds the growth where it stands and takes stumps down to grade level. What you get is a mulched trail you can walk or drive. We are fully insured. Small jobs are welcome and estimates are free.
Most of our trail cutting is ATV and UTV trails through timber. We also cut walking paths and horse trails. A lot of jobs are access routes to the back of a property. Old farm lanes that grew shut get reopened on the track they always ran. If two fields sit on either side of a strip of woods, we can put a trail through. Low limbs over the trail come off with a limb saw. It cuts them clean, then we mulch them on the ground. Hunting access trails and shooting lanes are covered on our hunting property improvement page.
Tell us about your land. We will get right back to you.
A clip from one of our own trail cutting jobs on Southern Illinois ground. Press play to watch.
The mulcher grinds brush and saplings into wood chips and drops them where they stood. Stumps in the trail come down to grade level, so nothing sticks up to catch a tire. The chips settle into a firm surface you can walk or drive. There is no pile to haul off and nothing to burn later. The tracked machine spreads its weight and keeps soil disturbance low.
This is mulching work, so the finished trail is chips over the original ground. We do not shape dirt or haul in gravel, and we are not a stump grinding service. Stumps come down to grade in the trail and stay in the ground. The machine handles brush and small trees, and we work around the timber you keep. If you want the method in detail, read about our forestry mulching work.
We start with where you want the trail to run and how the machine gets in there. You can flag the route or point it out on the ground. Trail clearing on an old lane follows the track that is already there. Then we make a pass with the mulching head at machine width. Wider trails take more passes. On thick growth we go slower and take smaller bites. The trail opens up behind the machine as we work.
Low limbs get taken off with the limb saw, which cuts instead of tearing. A sapling in a tight spot between trees you keep gets snipped off with the tree shear. When you want the material stacked instead of spread, we can put the grapple on. The attachments come off and on, so we match the tool to the ground. Say what you want done with the limbs and brush along the trail.
We are based in Cobden and cut trails across Jackson, Union and Williamson counties. That takes in Carbondale, Murphysboro, Anna, Marion, Herrin and Carterville. We also cut trails around Jonesboro, Vienna, Goreville and Harrisburg. Nearby Southern Illinois ground outside those counties is worth asking about. The full town list is on our service areas page. Call (618) 697-5190 and tell us where the property sits.
Estimates are free. We come out, look at the route and check how the machine gets in. Then you get a price for the work before anything starts. Short trails and small jobs are fine, and so are longer runs to the back of a farm. Pricing stays simple and fair. Call or send a message and we will set a time to come look.
Free, no-obligation estimates across Jackson, Union & Williamson counties.
(618) 697-5190From the first phone call to the finished ground, here is how it goes.
Call, text or send the form. We talk through what is growing, how much ground it covers, and what you want it to become, then set a time to come see it.
We look at the property with you, flag the trees and spots that stay, and give you a clear price. You know exactly what gets cleared and what it costs before anything starts.
The machine shows up when we said it would. Brush, saplings and small trees get ground into mulch in place, with no burn piles, no haul-off and no torn-up topsoil.
Look over the finished ground with us. Open, walkable, usable land, ready to mow, fence, hunt or plant. From trails to tracts, it is yours again.
Common questions about trail cutting across Jackson, Union & Williamson counties. If yours is not here, call or text and ask.
Forestry mulching turns brush, saplings and small trees into a layer of wood chip mulch on site. We cover Jackson, Union and Williamson counties from our base in Cobden.
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Brush clearing for overgrown fields, fence lines, old lots and invasive thickets across Southern Illinois. Our tracked skid steer grinds the brush into mulch on the spot, so the ground is usable the same day.
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We clear shooting lanes and quiet access trails on hunting property across Southern Illinois. Selective mulching opens the ground you want open and leaves the cover that holds deer.
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We mulch bush honeysuckle, autumn olive and multiflora rose down to grade level. The chips stay on the ground and the woods open back up.
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We clear brush, vines, saplings and small cedars off fence lines and hedgerows. The growth is mulched where it stands, so the fence is easy to see and work on.
Learn MoreBlackburn Land Service is based in Cobden. We look at your ground before we quote, and the plan gets set with you before any work starts.
A tracked skid steer with a forestry mulching head, backed by a limb saw, grapple and tree shear. Brush gets ground into mulch where it stands, not piled and burned.
We come look at the ground, talk through what opens up and what stays, and give you a clear price before the machine moves. Small jobs are welcome, down to a single lane.
Blackburn Land Service LLC is fully insured. Careful, selective work around the trees, fences and buildings you keep, with minimal soil disturbance and nothing left smoldering.
Real reviews from our Google Business Profile.
Blackburn Land Service did an excellent job of clearing a messy area of vines, overgrowth, and hanging branches on our property. Calls were retuned promptly, work was done thoughtfully, efficiently, and in a timely manner, as promised. The area was cleaned up and looked great when completed. Gery was a pleasure to work with from start to finish. I would not hesitate to recommend him to anyone needing a project done right the first time and on time!
Gery did an awesome job for us! He was so easy to work with from the initial call to the final handshake of thanks! We had an area behind our pond and some trails in the woods cleared, so now we can take our grandchildren on great adventures on the side by side! Thanks again Gery!
Gery is truly knowledgeable and professional with attention to detail. May your projects be large or small he is very thorough from start to finish. He goes above and beyond to make sure his client is totally satisfied with his services. I would highly recommend Gery for any of your land clearing projects.
Is baiting deer legal in Illinois? No. See what counts as bait under the Wildlife Code, how the 10 day rule works and why food plots are legal.
Read more →Shooting lane timing for Southern Illinois hunters: the best cutting windows, how far ahead of the archery opener to cut. Call (618) 697-5190.
Read more →Overgrown field, a fence line you cannot find, a trail that grew shut, or hunting ground that needs lanes? Call or text, or send the form. We will come look at the ground and give you a free estimate.
Tell us about your land. We will get right back to you.