There is something very disturbing to me
happening in the beautiful Texas Hill Country.
Land owners in many areas are busy stripping the blue green hills of the Ashe Juniper trees. These trees give the beautiful hills their color. Look in any direction and you will see a brown hill mixed in now or the side of a hill brown and the only green on the very top. It is sickening to me. The area I love with all my heart is being ruined by landowners who think they are doing good.
The reasons they strip the hills are many. One they say is for water conservation. Let me debunk that myth. The cedar trees have shallow root systems and do not take the deep ground water away. They actually preserve water with the shade they create. Water evaporates from ground that has no shade.
The cedars grow in areas 
that nothing else can grow with very little soil. They actually prevent erosion which the Hill Country is famous for. This mindless stripping will cause more erosion than we've seen in decades maybe centuries.
I've heard ranchers say that want to grow more grass for their cattle. What kind of cattle climb steep hills? How will you grow grass on rocks that have no dirt because of erosion?
Another reason is the allergies created by the pollen. Allergies can be minimized or eliminated by rubbing the cedar oil on your skin for a few days. The Indians ate the blue green berries when they were ripe or used them in teas and this prevented allergies. Many people do this today. Get more information before doing this or call me. The pollen is created only be the male trees. Cutting the female trees does nothing but destroys a living thing, a beautiful tree.
The habitat and food source for many animals is the Ashe Juniper tree. 
The lovely Hill Country is known for its many deer and exotic animals. They live under these trees. Take away the trees and you take away the deer and the other animals.
Bird watching 
is huge in the Hill Country. How many birds are attracted to these trees and live in these trees? Stripping the hills of cedar will change the birding in this area. This affects tourism greatly.
Many people rely on tourism for their living. All kinds of resorts, B&B's, hunting lodges, photography, restaurants, and the list goes on. Removing cedar from the hills will be devastating for the economy of this area. Not to mention the decreased beauty and death of wildlife.
Many people will disagree with me on this because they do not have their facts straight. The Ashe Juniper has been here since the Ice Age and that is a proven fact. Many say differently. It is a beneficial tree that produces lumber for fencing and furniture as well as the other important aspects I have already pointed out.
Please educate yourself on the benefits of the cedar trees and educate your neighbor and help stop this waste of our natural resources and the destruction of the beautiful Texas Hill Country.
Ricki Eichler, your Texas Hill Country connection
check out www.treecoalition.org there are other sites as well.
Elizabeth McGreevy Seiler wrote a book entitled "Untwisting The Cedar". It has lots of valuable information on the Ashe Juniper tree. Please read it. It will answer lots of your questions.
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