40 NEBRASKA CATTLEMAN March 2024 DEFEND OUR GRASSLANDS PREVENT AND REMOVE EASTERN REDCEDAR ----The Great Plains Grassland Initiative ---- VISIT YOUR LOCAL NRCS OFFICE OR A PARTNER BELOW FOR DETAILS. BEFORE AFTER Images courtesy of USDA-NRCS EASTERN REDCEDAR TREE REMOVAL Apply Now! USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender. © ® “Prescribed burn associations have developed these specialized skillsets of using high-intensity fire,” Fogarty says. “However, it’s not something that everyone has the ability to do correctly.” Finally, the producer should ensure they have the necessary resources to execute a controlled burn properly. “Prescribed fire can be cost-effective, but it can also be expensive,” Fogarty says. “The producer should also make sure they have community support and the right equipment.” Planning In order to be truly effective with the management of eastern red cedar, the best thing producers can do is to plan beforehand. “It’s not just the control tools you use, it’s how you strategically use them as a part of your management plan over time,” Twidwell says. Twidwell and Fogarty published a vulnerability guide in 2021 introducing a new philosophy for managing woody encroachment. Before this, the only advice for producers was how to rid themselves of the problem rather than predicting and preventing the issue before it began or worsened on their land. A few early adopters accepted the new thought process, but it was not being widely picked up by cattlemen and other landowners. Fogarty set out to solve that problem and make this revolutionary way of thinking easily accessible to the public. He created a pocket guide that breaks down the philosophy that he, Twidwell and others came up with in 2021. The first section of the pocket guide lays out some key principles for landowners to know and consider before diving in. “These definitions and key principles came from Twidwell’s vulnerability guide,” Fogarty says. “One thing producers need to understand is that grasslands are large-scale, treeless ecosystems dominated by herbaceous vegetation.” The research that Twidwell and Fogarty have participated in has been mostly about prevention. “Woody encroachment cannot occur if we don’t have seed sources,” Fogarty says. “It’s like a sunburn. We can’t get burned if we’re not in the sun.” Taking Inventory, Decision Support and Implementation The first step to effectively planning for and managing eastern red cedar is to take inventory. “We encourage producers to map out woody encroachment on their place and surrounding areas to understand what’s really going on with that issue,” Fogarty says. “This is like the COMBATING WOODY ENCROACHMENT CONTINUED FROM PAGE 39
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTMxNTA5