Herald Journal Blog

The Department of Natural Resources and a private contractor conducted a controlled burn of some prairie grass May 9 south of Winsted. Fire naturally regenerates the prairie. It also gets rid of red cedar, an invasive species in McLeod, Meeker and other counties west of here. Red cedar is a real pest in the prairie. It doesn’t belong there, but the only way it can be controlled naturally is by burning it. Burning red cedar in a populated area is dangerous, however. The Prairie Country RC& D council is pursuing market development of red cedar. If entrepreneurs can figure out a way to make money off of it, they will remove it from the prairie. Red cedar oil and using red cedar for landscaping are a couple of possibilities. This might just work. Never underestimate the power of Yankee ingenuity.