Cedar trees and cedar swamps have been associated with big buck stories for decades and have been thought of as great deer habitat throughout the years. Cedar trees, specifically Eastern Red Cedars, are credited for providing excellent bedding and thermal cover for whitetails when they are present on a landscape. The Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana) is not a true cedar, they are actually a type of Juniper, under the cypress family. For simple terms however, I am referring to the Eastern Red Cedar as a ‘cedar’ as they are commonly identified as such. True cedar trees (Cedrus) are native to the western Himalayas and Mediterranean regions of Europe.
Lately, a movement by whitetail experts to question the value of cedars has come to the surface. Many landowners and whitetail hunters are cutting cedars, mostly Eastern Red Cedars, and letting the area be restored into native grasses and forbs. So, if cedar trees aren’t good whitetail habitat, what is
