The devastating wildfires this spring have been another stark reminder of the ever-increasing need to eradicate and reduce the invasion of cedar trees. No matter how many acres of cedar trees are destroyed on purpose or by wildfire, it seems like a never-ending supply is available to fuel more wildfires.
Over the years, there have been programs available to encourage landowners to eradicate cedar trees using various state and federal cost-share programs. State governments have also made efforts to reduce the population of cedar trees that are on public lands. Not all our past measures have given us the long-term result we had hoped. The goal of future efforts must be to permanently eliminate them from the landscape.
All of the photos are from spring 2025 Dewey County, Oklahoma, fire, and provided by Justine Anderson, Oklahoma Conservation.
Cutting cedar trees without removal
When cost-share programs began to emerge some 25 years ago, the focus was to cut cedar trees. Programs usually only paid cost share for the cutting of the trees. The cost of stacking was not included. When the cedars were cut in place and left, the area where the tree fell remained ungrazable. No sane cow would put her face in a dead cedar tree to get a bite of grass unless it was an emergency.
Almost in a heartbeat new cedar trees emerged within the skeletons of the cut-down trees, thereby increasing the availability of fuel for the next wildfire. While cutting the tree stopped the uptake of water for a time, it didn’t solve the problem, and in places, may be part of the challenge today. We know now that removing the trees from where they were cut and stacking them is necessary.
Other removal procedures
Some trees were removed by taking a backhoe and digging them out. Machines with hydraulic operated shears that clipped the trees were used. Sometimes splinters were left sticking up from the base of the clipped tree.
These cedar splinters become very hard, and after a year or two, driving a vehicle across the pasture was an excellent place to have multiple flat tires. There have been many machines invented that effectively cut the trees, but unless they are removed from the cut site, we still have the problem. Prescribed burns are being widely used where possible to burn the trees.
Other concerns
Rural sub-divisions or housing additions around the larger cities and towns have become more common. Many of these additions are in heavily wooded areas, outside the city limits, and with a high percentage of the woods being cedar trees. I personally have looked at several of these additions where there is only one entry and exit into the addition.
When a wildfire occurs, it is difficult for firefighters to get in with personnel and equipment. Rescuing people trapped in additions is extremely difficult, dangerous and life threatening for residents and firefighters. I have observed homes in these additions that have cedar trees growing next to the house and even folded under the eaves.
Case study: An experiment gone bad
In 2008, grant funds were obtained to address potential wildfire problems in these rural wooded housing additions. There were two parts to the project. The first part was to educate as many homeowners and people living in these additions as possible. Public meetings about the dangers were held with local rural fire departments and emergency responders assisting in the training and information.
The second part of the grant was to conduct a demonstration project. An addition was selected that was heavily wooded around the perimeter and with only one way in and out. With the permission of adjoining landowners, a 300-foot buffer was cut around the addition. The trees were clear cut, removed and a root plow was used to remove the stumps.
This spring, 17 years later, wildfire swept across the area. The buffer had not been maintained and kept clear of cedars. It is my understanding that every single home in that addition burned to the ground. The plan was good. If the homeowners could have devoted a few hours a year to walking the buffer area, cutting the small cedars with an ax, and reducing the wildfire risk, it might have been successful.
Current thought process
A combination of all of these efforts and more need to be stepped up to ultimately bring the cedar invasion under control. It’s an uphill battle.
One of the most effective ways of preventing cedar infestation is to stop them in their early stages of growth. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service has an initiative called the Great Plains Grassland Biome. The focus of this initiative is to destroy the cedars in their early stages of growth. If the infestation is large, controlled burning may be most effective. Smaller acreages can be controlled by hand, or a mechanical cutting close to the ground might prevent further growth.
In Oklahoma, the Terry Peach Watershed Restoration Act, passed by the legislature, funded and administered by the Oklahoma Conservation Commission, has breathed new life into removing cedars in both the North and South Canadian River watershed areas.
Early work along the North Canadian River in 2007-08 showed dramatic results in increasing stream flow while improving the productivity of the land, but the cost of maintaining the effort was believed too much. The agencies leading the effort in the High Plains region were unexpectedly eliminated in 2011. The human loss, property loss, social and other economic losses have far exceeded what it would have cost to eradicate large acreages of cedar.
Economic development aspect
Ridding the countryside of cedar trees does have economic benefits to the local economy. First, the companies that cut the trees investment in equipment, they have employees, operating expenses and spend money in the communities. Cedar trees have properties that are of economic benefit that have been determined through scientific research.
First, we know that the oil from the leaves of cedar trees contains 64 chemical compounds, and we know that at least three of those compounds may have potential value for cancer treatment. Extracting the oil from both the wood and leaves results in a high value product. Cedar logs can be used in building projects, furniture, and other products.
At last count there were 70 small businesses in Oklahoma utilizing cedar creating over 200 jobs. Cedars large enough to have value for building and other similar uses should be set aside and used to create products with economic value. Using cedar for economic development is part of the eradication process.
This is a short discussion of some of the issues. There are many other parts to the story. This article points to the need for all concerned to continue to work together and strengthen the partnerships between landowners, people who live in the country among the cedars, agencies, companies, insurance companies, community and towns, and others.
Tom Lucas can be reached at (580) 727-4397 or [email protected].
