Cedar Removal Reality at Valentine NWR

James E. Ducey. December 28, 2023. Grant County News 139(22): 1, 14. This article has been slightly revised from the published version.

Projects to remove invasive red cedar trees from public lands are ongoing within the sandhills.

With $2 million in funds provided by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that became federal law in 2021, the following places primarily within the sandhills are having unwanted cedar trees removed:

Seier National Wildlife Refuge near Rose in central Rock county.

Yellowthroat Wildlife Management Area south of Ainsworth, Brown county.

Fort Niobrara NWR northeast of Valentine, Cherry county where the resident bison effectively deal with the cedar trees.

Valentine NWR within the lake district south of Valentine, as originally established as a migratory bird refuge in the mid-1930s.

Lacreek NWR southeast of Martin, SD at the northern edge of the sandhills that does not have a cedar problem.

Crescent Lake NWR in central Garden county where there is no infestation.

North Platte NWR associated with a few lakes near Scottsbluff in the Nebraska panhandle.

As of mid-December, about a third of the removal work on the $750,000 portion of the project was completed at Valentine NWR, said Matt Sprenger, manager of the Fort Niobrara and Valentine refuges complex. There were 16 units designated where removal would occur, and five of them have been completed.

Some of the removed trees have been mulched while others will be gathered in place and eventually get burned.

This refuge has a primary focus on grassland nesting birds, Sprenger said. The known populations of many of these bird types are known to have declined in recent years at many areas of the plains.

Removal of cedars is vital for grassland conditions. Habitat needs vary according to different species, and the condition of vegetation can vary greatly and provide suitable for different species to a differing extent and can be drastically impacted by tree growth.

At the refuge, the primary goal is to manage for grassland species. This can include bobolikns, species of sparrows or eastern meadowlarks in the wet meadows. Some species to avoid spaces where the height of trees or other objects impose upon the landscape.

Though trees shelterbelts or other places with trees are known to provide wildlife shelter - for deer as an example - this need can often be provided by growths of willows or tall cattails that can provide cover.

Removal of cedars can provide ancillary benefits. The occurrence of woody vegetation can complicate a controlled burn as it can create a "hotspot" requiring more detailed attention to fire control. Eventually ground covered by cedar branches will revert to a condition not suited for foraging birds as well as limiting the extent of grazing cattle.

When meadowlands are subject to controlled burns, the ground thatch can be removed thus improving conditions for the ground-dwelling critters.

Habitat goals can differ on public lands versus private property.

Cedar trees can occur to a greater extent on private property where their growth is not managed.

The next phase after the removal of the cedars will be an evaluation of what deciduous trees might be removed. There would be a focus on removal of invasive locust trees which did not have a natural occurrence historically and are especially extensive in the Dewey Lake and Hackberry Lake area. Willow and eastern cottonwood only had a restricted occurrence upon the landscape due to natural prairie fires and foraging by roaming herds of bison. There does not seem to be any intent to remove all of the willows, as indicated by Sprenger, during a recent visit to the refuge.

An environmental assessment may be prepared due to the need to suitably consider the occurrence or lack thereof of species of concern, perhaps including the long-eared bat, Sprenger said.