I am in the process of clearing cedar from my property. My question for the veteran land managers - Does cedar benefit the deer population in any way - other than perhaps providing cover.

From my perspective, it seems like cedar progressively chokes out any other tree and brush and I am not aware of any benefit it provides the soils or aids in growing browse.

Your thoughts and experiences, please!

When I cleared cedar off my place I left spots of it to provide good cover. Otherwise I don't think it helps anything.

Cover and I have seen deer eat the cedar balls seed/berries. Not often and was in drought years but have seen them eat them.

Like mesquite, cedar sucks up a lot of water, is a fire hazard, and limits grass growth in the area. The negatives far outweigh the positive of cover.

If theres a benefit to deer its a well kept secret.

This ^^^^

Cedar, actually Juniper west of IH35, is a water sucking weed of a tree/bush, a total nuisance of a living plant. I clear as much as I possibly can each year to try to replenish our artesian springs. I use a skid steer with shear to cut them as close to the ground as possible and then create piles or rows of brush for cover protection for deer, turkey, etc. and provides places for smaller animals/birds to nest. This helps natural ground cover (grass, weeds, etc.) to grow where the shade of the cedar was and also rebuilds ground water absorption ... they provide no useful purpose that I can find.

its only benefit is when it burns

Are you coming back with some kind of remedy-spray mixture? Not positive as we haven't dealt with it much, but kinda thought of cedar like mesquite. If you just cut it flush with the ground, its going to grow back.

I would think that it needed to be grubbed with the root ball removed to kill it.

On cedar, if you get all the green off of it, they usually die. So shearing below any green growth will kill it.

as stated above, I haven't had much of an issue with them growing back if cut close to the ground. I think there are some varieties that will come back if the roots are left in place.

Only good things I can say about cedar is, it makes good posts and deer like to rub their antlers on it.

Bucks love to rub up on it

Cedar or Juniper if cut below the lowest branch will NOT return. Juniper or Cedar as we call it has no tap root or BUD ZONE like mesquite. That's why it will not regrow.

Frio

They can provide good thermal cover in winter when leaves are off the deciduous trees. Scattered cedars in low densities are not an issue and probably not worth the time to remove. Dense stands where growth of other species should be removed. In some areas they may be the only thing that grows due to the steepness of the terrain and provide an erosion benefit here. We have removed 80% on the ranch, 10% still needs to go, the other 10% is too scattered and not worth the time unless we are doing other clearing in the area and can pick them off with convenience.

Cover is the only benefit I can think of. I`ve seen them eat it, but don`t know why.

no, what every cover it provides it counters with killing out forbs and sucking water.

cedar sap is a nature herbicide

answer to your question?? NEGATORY - it is not only worthless it is damaging

I’m about to cut a bunch of it to provide protection for fish from cormorants. They’ve cleaned me out 2 years in a row.

I like it because it’s green during in winter

Ashe juniper is not a re-sprouter, so a cut at ground level works 99% of the time. No herbicide is needed.

Redberry juniper, found around Rocksprings and Sonora and westward, WILL resprout and does require a herbicide application.

When granddad would burn cactus for cattle he would hit every cedar sapling he could get to. Cedars are very susceptible to fire.

It depends on your location and the amount you have IMO.

Where I hunt if you removed all the cedars you would have a lot fewer deer LIVING on the pasture. They would be at risk of die offs in times of drought and extreme cold. Cedars are like Mesquite in that they will bear fruit in dry times when nothing else will.
I've seen mature bucks gutted FULL of cedar berries. The cover is very important in extreme conditions of cold and heat on the great plains and many areas of west Texas. They need to be cleared and controlled like all trees and brush. I've seen the deer pretty much leave areas that have been burned out except for the green up that happens after the fire if you get wet conditions. There are many bird species as well that need what cedars offer. The birds are important to the overall balance of the wildlife and plants/trees.

Agree PP

[quote=Pitchfork Predator]It depends on your location and the amount you have IMO.

Where I hunt if you removed all the cedars you would have a lot fewer deer LIVING on the pasture. They would be at risk of die offs in times of drought and extreme cold. Cedars are like Mesquite in that they will bear fruit in dry times when nothing else will.
I've seen mature bucks gutted FULL of cedar berries. The cover is very important in extreme conditions of cold and heat on the great plains and many areas of west Texas. They need to be cleared and controlled like all trees and brush. I've seen the deer pretty much leave areas that have been burned out except for the green up that happens after the fire if you get wet conditions. There are many bird species as well that need what cedars offer. The birds are important to the overall balance of the wildlife and plants/trees.[/quote

Very good points, Pitch. In the 60s 70 80s we hunted outa Ft Stockton(Bakersfield, actually) and if all the cedar was gone there wouldnt of been much of anything left.

Had a rancher say the only thing their good far is to hold the earth together and I agree, we had a few on our place but took them out before they spread