The Truth About Cedars! Why Cedar Thickets Have To Go!

[@jamesjacobs5954]

Love the episode Shawn. Especially involving your little man. Those are memories you’ll never forget. I have the same cedar problems on my farm. I’ll tackle them next February as you did. Again very helpful information!

[@HeartlandBowhunter]

@jamesjacobs5954 thanks so much! I’m quickly seeing how fast they grow up so I’m doing my best to take in all the moments with him. Good luck on your cedar cut! It will be exciting to see what takes the place of those cedars.

[@kapperoutdoors]

Also love the after look. Great burn and follow up! Thanks

[@kapperoutdoors]

Great video for sure and lots to consider for landowners. I could not find your info on the main page, where are you located in MO? We are moving to MO in the Southcentral area. Maybe you'd like to come visit the farm, or us come visit for some land management collaboration videos? Just an idea. Thanks!

[@melvinsacromentoe]

Pretty impressive how much the fire helped clear up the space

[@Mo75149-j]

Great video, I used to think cedars were the key to deer cover. But, after finding over 400 sheds in the last 10-15 years, hardly ever find them in cedar thickets. I see lots of beds at times of heavy snow, sometimes in cedars. Overall, deer would rather bed in the new growth after the cedars are removed imo. I don't mind a few cedars here and there, but the thickets of them have to go for better habitat.

[@HeartlandBowhunter]

Absolutely correct! I couldn’t agree more! I used to be the same way and also realized I’ve only found just a few sheds in cedars. Most are in native grasses and more open canopy areas.

[@bmalone0688]

Look up the "brush bullet". A rancher in the Texas panhandle invented it and it's very effective. He has a KZbin, The Mendota Ranch, that has some videos describing it and showing some results. He does it by air but they have ground treatment kits available as well. I have some to treat about 100 acres of cedars/cactus with.

[@HeartlandBowhunter]

Interesting! I will check it out. Thanks!

[@Landandlegacytube]

Be careful! They recommend being a good distance away from hardwoods. Great tool but shouldn’t be anywhere near hardwoods

[@bmalone0688]

@@Landandlegacytubethe stuff I have seen it could be used within 20-30 yards of it with no questions as long as the slope is right. It dissolves into the ground wherever the pellet is laying. I’m no pro and not disagreeing but just making sure we are talking about the same thing lol

[@Landandlegacytube]

@@bmalone0688 gotcha. I had talked with them multiple times about a project and they really stressed to me about staying a good distance away so when I asked about cottonwoods I believe they told me 100 yards at least. That was for a project in western Oklahoma but it really gave me the impression that open rangeland cedars was the purpose

[@bmalone0688]

@@Landandlegacytubegood to know. I will leave a buffer when I use it just to be safe. Take care

[@melvinsacromentoe]

I thought cutting cedars was the worst until I got in a patch of bush honey suckle. The worst!!

[@HeartlandBowhunter]

You aren't kidding! Bush honey suckle is at the top of the list of nuisance invasives! It is so hard to combat.

[@wcb5890]

The key point/word you mentioned is monoculture...also, you are basically just dealing with old growth. The theory imo is the same on any heavy large stem count timber. Depending on terrain I have found Cedar "thickets" thinned with diversity (grasses, wood browse, etc) are fantastic late season bedding and great thermal protection. Depending on area and size of property etc. not every single square foot of land needs nutritional value just like not every square foot needs cover i.e. food plots. Food plots don't provide protections/cover. It only addresses 1 need. I hunt multiple properties with heavy swamps, open CRP and everything in between. in the dead of winter I would say 90% of deer are bedded in or near the pines and cedars...of course no where near as monocultured and dense as what you started with in this video. Also, absolute best trees to bow hunt out of cover wise again in late season they are money.

[@HeartlandBowhunter]

Agreed! Sorry if it came across like we need to eliminate every single cedar. That's definitely not the case but a heavy stand like this needs some serious thinning in order to be of better use habitat wise. Cedars are most certainly an excellent tree to utilize for bowhunting when theyre big enough!

[@wcb5890]

@@HeartlandBowhunter No need to apologize I didn't take it as every cedar needs to go...however the general public and guys watching these land management videos seem to latch onto easy themes like "cedars are bad" and go 100% in that direction. Or the "there is nothing for the deer to eat" when talking about a small area relative to the habitat. meanwhile I watch deer in the Dakotas go out into the middle of a 50 acres cattail slough where there is also zero food and not leave all day. Overall really enjoy your guys" content!

[@HeartlandBowhunter]

@@wcb5890 For sure! Diversity is key. great points. Thank you for watching and appreciate the comment!

[@Andrew-sanders]

What a mess you left. Cedar burns best when the needles turn grey. They are not the hot explosive burn of when green or brown. Your stumps are crazy high. Even after cleaning up the logs you can't mow to reset without cutting every one off. Then the cash loss. A acre of thicket usually nets about 3k in production from the wood. Every tree that is bigger than a inch across at 5 feet has cash value. Don't say people won't buy cedar I have shipped Oklahoma cedar to 35 states because few will do anything but cut and burn. To clear and process 10 acres to me is a weeks work. I have almost hit the 1k mark for the year all saw cut and alot of it thicker than that was

[@HeartlandBowhunter]

@andrew-sanders I was very pleased with this burn. I appreciate the advice but am happy with the outcome I had. As far as the stumps go, I have no intentions to ever touch any of this with a mower. I will reset with prescribed fire every 3-4 years to promote native species which will also break down the stumps. Nonetheless the stumps really don’t matter to me. I actually didn’t realize there was a big market for cedars but I’m not in that industry nor am I hauling them out of there. Removing them would be removing fuel for the initial prescribed fire that resets the dormant seedbed so I’d rather keep them there. Hope this helps and thanks for watching! - Shawn

[@Landandlegacytube]

The biggest issue with them laying for a couple years is the amount of woody sprouts growing under the debris due to heavy moisture loads. We’ve seen that technique turn into a big problem with then having to control other species like redbud and spice bush.