Rancher speaking here. Dead cedars equal drought. Drought kills grass too. That's why calves weighing 500 plus are brining 1k or more at auctions, which means higher meat in the grocery stores. Supply and demand, it's as simple as that.
I was told that if there are dead ones in a small area then it was probably drought related. Where you see hundreds of acres of dead cedar is supposedly some kind of blight. Kill 'em all is what I say. The only problem is then you have oak wilt come in and your left with nothing but prairie.
Massive amounts dead in burnet county, especially in the Hoover valley area. The mountain tops near the lakes are a major fire hazard. Can't get tractor or dozer up the mountains to push out, and not economically feasible for people to pay to do it by hand. We are still in desperate need of rain in central Texas. I'm all for getting rid of some cedars, but all the dead ones out there in the area a speak of is horrible looking and dangerous.
I've got a bunch of dead ones behind my house on my 11 aces. I'm cutting them as fast as I can because they are a fire hazard. I can't burn them though due to the burn ban. Come on rain!
First, Kill every cedar. Then you will be amazed how much water you have.
Mature salt cedar drinks 40 gallons of water per day.(at least that's what the soil conservation guy on Red Steagalls radio show said a while back) He said creek beds that had been dry for years,and years would flow again.
Had one turn brown last spring that I believe is related to cedar bark beetle. From what I remember once you see that stage, the beetles are gone and to another tree. Got a couple more now that are getting that same look.
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