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Land Clearing & Forestry Mulching in Ortonville, Michigan
Forestry mulching, brush hogging and lot clearing in Brandon Township, about 50 minutes from our base in Royal Oak.
Ortonville is a village of about 1,300 people (1,291 in the 2021 estimate) inside Brandon Township in north Oakland County, roughly halfway between Pontiac and Flint. Amos Orton founded it in 1848 by building a dam across Kearsley Creek to power a gristmill; the village was platted in 1866 and incorporated in 1902. Brandon Township, created in 1837 and named for Brandon, Vermont, surrounds it on nearly thirty-six square miles, almost one of them water. Goodrich lies to the north, Oxford to the east, Clarkston to the south and Holly to the west. Brandon Township had 15,384 residents at the 2020 census and lies about twenty miles southeast of Flint. According to the village's own history page, the Orton family made the trip from upstate New York by boat and ox cart in 1839.
The land is hills. The village describes itself as nestled in the rolling hills of north Oakland County, and the township's named places sit at 971 feet at Brandon Gardens, on M-15 at Glass Road, 1,030 feet at Perry Lake Heights and 1,099 feet at Oakwood, on the Oxford Township line. Water is everywhere too: Bald Eagle Lake, Lake Louise and Perry Lake, a long list of smaller lakes, Kearsley Creek through the village, and the headwaters of the Clinton River, which rises from wetlands and coldwater tributaries in Brandon, Independence and Springfield townships. The Ortonville State Recreation Area, 5,400 acres, reaches from Oakland County into Lapeer County.
From our shop in Royal Oak the drive is about fifty minutes, the farthest of our Oakland County towns, and travel is part of the price rather than an extra. The equipment is one high-flow tracked skid steer, a Bobcat T86 on rubber tracks, carrying a FECON forestry mulcher or a brush hog attachment. Phones at (810) 776-8524 are answered 8 AM to 8 PM daily, and an address with photos through the quote form brings back one written project price. The sections below set out the jobs that come up around Ortonville, how a visit unfolds, which seasons suit hills and wet ground, and the questions owners here ask.
Roads and places we cover in Brandon Township: the Village of Ortonville, Brandon Gardens, Oakwood and Perry Lake Heights, along M-15, Seymour Lake Road, Hadley Road, Oakwood Road, Sashabaw Road and Perry Lake Road, the shores of Bald Eagle Lake, Lake Louise and Perry Lake, and the Lapeer County line.
Common Jobs in Brandon Township
- Wooded building sites on the dirt roads north and east of the village, cleared to the house footprint, drive and septic area.
- Pasture and paddock reclamation on the horse properties along Hadley and Oakwood roads.
- Trails and brush-outs on hilly parcels, including ravine crossings and creek banks along Kearsley Creek.
- Lake lot brush on Bald Eagle Lake, Lake Louise and Perry Lake, taken down to a chip layer that holds the bank.
- Fence line and property line clearing on the larger parcels toward the Lapeer County line.
Work in Ortonville and Brandon Township
Hills, lakes and wooded lots, and what is done on each.
Wooded building sites
Parcels in Brandon Township are still being built on, and a house needs a clear footprint, a drive line and room for the work. We cut those areas to a chip layer, keep the oaks you tape, and leave the lot walkable for the surveyor and the excavator the same day. Send the plot plan with the photos. See land clearing for new construction and the guide to clearing a lot for a new house. Septic areas and well sites are marked with the surveyor's stakes and protected during the work, and the lot is left with a surface the excavator can grade through.
Hillside parcels
Brandon Township's hills climb from about 970 feet at Brandon Gardens to over 1,090 at Oakwood. Sandy ridges grow autumn olive and hawthorn as soon as the mowing stops, and oak woods fill with cherry and buckthorn. A hillside is walked first, passes are planned so the machine always works from stable ground, and the chip layer stays on the slope. The hillside and creek-bank guide describes the approach.
Lake lots on Bald Eagle Lake, Lake Louise and Perry Lake
Perry Lake Heights is the named community on Perry Lake, west of Perry Lake Road, and Bald Eagle Lake and Lake Louise are two more of the township's many lakes. Brush on lake lots is taken down to a chip layer that holds the bank, and the shade trees over the water stay. See lakefront and creek bank clearing. Owners often send photos taken from the dock or the shoreline looking back at the house, which show the density of the brush and the slope of the bank at the same time.
Kearsley Creek and the low ground
Kearsley Creek runs through the village that Amos Orton built around its dam, and the low ground between the ridges is dogwood and cattail. Creek banks and wet corners are scheduled for frozen ground or the dry stretch of late summer so the tracks stay on firm soil. The invasive growth removal page covers what to cut first. A creek crossing on a trail route is planned the same way, from firm ground on both banks.
Pasture and fence lines toward the Lapeer County line
Fields and paddocks grow shut when the mowing slips, and the larger parcels toward Hadley Township and Lapeer County carry fence lines that need opening for new wire or board. The brush hog attachment mows the open ground and the forestry mulcher takes the woody edges. See pasture reclamation and fence line clearing.
Trails, hunting land and shooting lanes
With the Ortonville State Recreation Area on the north side and wooded parcels throughout, trail cutting and hunting land clearing are steady work here. We open trails, stand access and shooting lanes, and prepare food plot ground for planting. See trail cutting, hunting land clearing and the hunting trail clearing guide. Private parcels near the recreation area are often cut with trails, stand access and shooting lanes.
How an Ortonville Job Goes
The route from the first photo to the finished slope.
Photos and the lay of the land
Send photos of the growth, a note on the slope and where the lot meets the road, and the plot plan if a house is planned. A hillside, a lake bank or a large acreage gets a walk-through, and the keeper trees are taped on the spot. Photos taken from the road and from the middle of the lot show the density and the slope together.
The written price
One figure covers the whole lot, with the fifty-minute drive from Royal Oak and the machine move inside it. Billing by the hour does not appear, and the number is on paper before the trailer leaves. Forms and texts are answered within one business day.
Stable ground first
The passes follow firm ground: the crest of a ridge, the dry side of a bank, frozen soil along a creek. On a lake lot, the work begins at the top of the bank and moves down. Anything wet is handled last in the visit, so the tracks have the longest possible time on firm ground.
A chip layer on the slope
The brush is ground to chips where it stood, roots stay in the hill, and the layer holds the surface while grass comes back. Nothing is hauled away, and the surveyor or the excavator can start on the same ground.
Seasons in Brandon Township
Hills year-round, wet ground when it is firm.
Winter
Creek banks and low ground between the ridges are winter work, with frozen soil under the tracks and leaf-off showing every lot line. Frozen ground also lets the machine cross a low spot that would be soft in April.
Spring
Home sites for a summer build come first, and the upland lots can be cleared as soon as the frost leaves. Soggy low ground waits. The ridges dry first, which makes them the place to start once the frost is out.
Summer
The dry stretch of late summer reaches creek banks and lake edges that stay soft in spring, and pasture edges are cut after the hay is off. Lake lots are cleared when the shoreline is dry enough to carry the tracks.
Fall
Hunting-land work books up from August through October, and a lot cleared in autumn is ready for a spring foundation or a food plot. Leaf-off makes it easy to tape the keepers on a wooded building site.
The Land Around Ortonville
Brandon Township includes the community of Brandon Gardens at M-15 and Glass Road, Oakwood straddling the Oxford Township line at Baldwin and Oakwood roads, and Perry Lake Heights on Perry Lake. The village itself covers less than one square mile, with some development reaching into Groveland Township in Oakland County and Hadley Township in Lapeer County. The Clinton River headwaters and a long list of smaller lakes fill out the map, and the Ortonville State Recreation Area adds 5,400 acres of public land across the Oakland and Lapeer county line. The village is small enough that most of the work lies in the township around it, which spans nearly 36 square miles and has about 15,384 residents spread across lakes, ridges and back roads.
From the shop in Royal Oak the drive to Ortonville is about fifty minutes. Oxford, Clarkston and Holly in Oakland County, Goodrich in Genesee County, and Hadley and Metamora in Lapeer County are on the same stretch, and a parcel that crosses a county line is still one written price. An owner with a lot near the village and another near a lake receives a single price and a single schedule.
Ortonville Questions
Can a lot right on a lake be cleared?
Yes. The bank is walked first, the machine works from stable ground above it, and the chip layer is left on the slope to hold the soil. Shade trees over the water are flagged and stay. A photo from the yard toward the water is all we need for the price. Lake lots are priced the same way as any other lot, as one written figure.
Do you reach the Lapeer County side of the line?
Yes. Part of the village's development reaches into Hadley Township in Lapeer County, and the larger parcels toward the county line are on the same trip. A project that crosses the line is still one written price. See the Hadley service page for that side of the line.
How long does a five-acre wooded parcel take?
Heavy brush with saplings works out to roughly an acre a day, so five acres of dense growth takes several days, and lighter ground moves faster. The schedule comes with the written price. Lighter ground moves faster.
Which trees stay when the understory comes out?
The ones you tape. The forestry mulcher grinds brush, saplings and small trees, and the oaks and other trees you mark stand in open, walkable ground afterward.
Can trails and shooting lanes be cut at the same time?
Yes. Trails, stand access and shooting lanes are cut on the same visit as the rest of the clearing, so the whole property is one project and one price.
Does the brush hog help on open ground?
Yes. The brush hog attachment on the same skid steer mows grass, fields and light brush, and the forestry mulcher takes anything woody. Forestry mulching vs brush hogging explains the choice.
What do the chips do on a slope?
They hold the soil while grass and ground cover return, and they break down into the hillside over a few seasons. The mulch guide goes through each case. Grass seed or a clover mix over the chips gives a slope quick cover.
What should I send for a price?
The address, photos of the growth from the road and from the lot, the plot plan if a house is planned, and a note on the gate or access. The rest is settled on the follow-up call. Mention whether a septic field or a well sits on the lot, since those are marked and protected.
Nearby Areas We Also Serve
See everything we do in Oakland County or browse all service areas.
Services in Oakland County
- Land Clearing in Oakland County
- Land Clearing in Southeast Michigan
- Forestry Mulching in Oakland County
- Lot Clearing in Oakland County
- Lot Clearing
- Brush Hogging in Oakland County
- Brush Hogging
- Land Clearing for New Construction
- Lakefront & Creek Bank Clearing
- Pasture Reclamation
- Fence Line Clearing
- Trail Cutting
- Hunting Land Clearing
- Shooting Lane Clearing
- Driveway Clearing
Sources and Further Reading
Official and public pages for the places named above.
Village of Ortonville: History of the village
Brandon Charter Township: Brandon Township home page
Brandon Charter Township: Sites of interest
Michigan Department of Natural Resources: Ortonville Recreation Area
Overgrown Ground in Ortonville?
Send the address and a few photos through the quote form, or call. You will get one project price for the whole job, travel included.