Oklahoma is home to hundreds of millions of eastern redcedars, and some estimates show the state loses 300,000 acres a year to cedar tree encroachment.
All those trees drink billions of gallons of water, take over native habitat and provide prime fuel for wildfires. There are other programs to stomp out cedars, but Trey Lam, executive director of the Oklahoma Conservation Commission, said his organization wanted to target specific places.
"We want to concentrate on what we call a local emphasis area and put those funds to work and try to get the biggest impact that we can," Lam said.
There are five areas in the cost share program boundary with different focuses. One of the sections includes Payne, Logan and Lincoln Counties, which have a high density of cedars and saw destructive wildfires earlier this year.
This program began as the Terry Peach North Canadian Watershed pilot project and expanded into other areas of the state.
There are different ways to remove the trees, such as using machinery or prescribed fires. Lam said in the new program, the landowner will pay part of the cost and the commission provides an incentive because removal can be an expensive process.
Payments in the cost-share program can reach up to $50,000 for particularly large tracts.. Lam said the commission wants to make sure the payment spreads around to control the most cedars.
"The idea is once the landowner sees that they can increase their grass production by 4,000 pounds an acre, that they can run more cattle, that they'll have more deer and quail, then they'll decide to go ahead and invest their own money to do the rest of their property," Lam said.
The application period for the program closes Dec. 1.
This report was produced by the Oklahoma Public Media Exchange, a collaboration of public media organizations. Help support collaborative journalism by donating at the link at the top of this webpage.
