Care for Older Cedars

Save a Cedar…Lift a cage! There are occasions when a maturing northern white-cedar planted on state land will out-grow its original cage before our work-crew can replace the cage with a larger 6-ft cage. We are asking if you see a cedar tree spiking out of the top of a cage, please lift the cage to save the cedar.
If while fishing on the river you notice a cedar that has out-grown its original cage, please loosen the four twist-ties securing the cage to the stakes and lift the cage 6 – 12 inches. Re-secure the twist-ties in the new higher position. You may need to re-position the ties secured to the cage to accommodate the changed height. There are times when the growing cedar has become tangled with the meshed top of the cage, so care needs to be taken while lifting the cage. Photo Note: The top of the cedar is spiking out of the top of the cage!

There are about 2,000 northern white-cedars planted on state owned land on both the Au Sable and Manistee Rivers. Many other river conservations groups annually have work-projects to replace the original cages with the larger black 6-ft replacement cages. This larger cage is open at the top to allow the maturing cedars to continue to be protected while growing at the river’s edge. Your help of lifting the cage will allow the current cage to protect the growing cedars until the volunteer work-crew can replace the cage in the near future. Please contact Cedars for the Au Sable chairperson Howard N. Johnson with questions or comments at ausablecedars@gmail.com

Now in its twenty-third year, the Cedars for the Au Sable project encourages river property owners to replant native northern white-cedar seedlings along the river’s edge to help maintain the delicate balance of the river’s ecological system. Since the beginning of this project in 1997 by the Au Sable River Property Owners Association (ARPOA), over 23,000 northern white-cedar seedlings have been planted and protected in enclosures.