Put Cedar Trees in Your Pond, Why?

At Blue Wing Outdoors, we have made a career out of habitat management, we've worked out a lot of science for it, and applying it now has been a blast. Typically as we come in to a new or existing fishery to discuss management we describe the habitat desert, a barren wasteland with no features or variation, and we describe what a baby fish feels and experiences. When we are able to illustrate these two things to customers they then understand the importance of structure and having trees throughout their fishery. In some fisheries we've got a mix of artificial and natural. In a typical body of water we say we need to start with 300 trees submerged into the water and probably go up from there to north of 500. When using cedar trees they will only last and benefit your fishery for around 2 years. Why all the effort? Because it simply works.

The beauty of Cedar Trees is this is a perfect marriage of wildlife habitat and fish habitat. So most wildlife managers, view cedar trees as a nuisance, or at the very least, something that needs to be managed.

There's lots of people making money and putting forth effort to pull cedar trees off the landscape. And here's a perfect marriage where there's a need for these trees in fisheries management.

If you are lucky enough there's a neighbor down the road that wants to get rid of cedar trees, so the cost of inputs are pretty cheap, so long as you have the source there. If the landowner wants them gone and you want them in your pond, it's a win win and we can keep justifying putting all that in there because it simply works.

In one of our managed properties, we put over 500 cedar trees submerged into the fishery. Tons of work. Many, many hours to cut those, drop them, and get the pond to where we want it. We got the lake just about where we want it. And then after four to five years, you've lost the majority of the value of those trees. So if the cedar trees submerged into the pond only last that long, why do you do it? 

The answer is simple, some people like to do it because even if it only last five years, the entry cost of cedar trees is generally a lot lower than going with any other kind of artificial habitat. You can go with an artificial habitat that will last forever. But the upfront cost is going to be a lot higher. It's a lot more palatable to find a source of cedar trees, put them in and then replace them again five years from now.

By utilizing these tools and a variety of other management practices we at Blue Wing Outdoors are able to bring your fisheries to new levels of production, health, and beauty. Contact us to learn more about how we can help with your fisheries management. 

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Brian Graeb, PhD

Blue Wing Outdoors