# Does the Golden-Cheeked Warbler Affect Cedar Clearing?

> Does the golden-cheeked warbler affect cedar clearing in Bell County? What its habitat looks like, why young cedar is different, and the survey window.

URL: https://arcadytemplelandclearing.com/guide/golden-cheeked-warbler-and-cedar-clearing/

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Only on some tracts. Mature cedar mixed with oaks on canyon slopes can be habitat; young cedar spreading into pasture is not. Here is how to tell them apart.

**Short answer:** for most cedar clearing in Bell County, no. Young cedar spreading into open pasture is not golden-cheeked warbler habitat. The question matters on tracts with mature Ashe juniper mixed with oaks and other hardwoods on steep, moist slopes under a mostly closed canopy, which the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service describes as the bird’s habitat. On those tracts, settle the question before clearing.

[Arcady Temple Land Clearing](https://arcadytemplelandclearing.com/) clears cedar across Bell County and looks at this question on the first walk of any wooded slope.

Key takeaways

- The warbler is federally endangered and nests only in Central Texas.
- Habitat is mature mixed cedar-oak woodland, not young cedar in open ground.
- Surveys only count from March 15 to June 1.

## The bird

The golden-cheeked warbler is a small songbird that nests only in Central Texas and is listed as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act. It depends on mature Ashe juniper for nesting material: it strips long bark from older trees. Fort Cavazos, which covers parts of Bell and Coryell counties, supports a breeding population.

Federal law prohibits “take” of an endangered species, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service defines harm to include significant habitat modification that kills or injures the bird by impairing breeding, feeding or sheltering. That is why clearing in real habitat is handled carefully.

## What habitat looks like

The Fish and Wildlife Service’s Austin office describes potential habitat as:

- **mature Ashe juniper**, at least about 15 feet tall with trunks around 5 inches across at chest height;
- **mixed with oaks, elms and other hardwoods**, in a natural mix;
- **in moist areas such as steep canyons and slopes**, with adjacent uplands also likely used;
- **with a nearly continuous canopy**, 50 to 100 percent closed, and an overall canopy height of 20 feet or more.

## What is usually not habitat

Most cedar clearing in Bell County is young cedar spreading into pasture or open ground: scattered or thick, but small, in full sun, without the tall mixed canopy. That is the work [cedar clearing](https://arcadytemplelandclearing.com/cedar-clearing/) usually describes. Clearing cedar regrowth from a field is a very different situation from clearing a shaded canyon of old cedar and oaks.

| Feature | Young cedar regrowth | Possible warbler habitat |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Tree size | Small to medium | Mature, about 15 ft and 5 in or larger |
| Mix | Mostly cedar | Cedar with oaks, elms, other hardwoods |
| Setting | Open pasture, fence lines | Moist canyons, slopes and adjacent uplands |
| Canopy | Open | 50 to 100 percent closed, 20 ft or taller |

A simple way to read a stand is to stand inside it at midday. If sun reaches the ground, the trees are mostly cedar, and you can see out across the pasture, it is regrowth. If the ground is shaded and cool, oaks and elms are mixed in, and the trees overhead close into a roof well above head height, it is the kind of stand to ask about before any machine goes in. Photos taken from inside the stand, looking up and out, show this better than photos from the road.

## The survey window

If a tract might be habitat, presence or absence is shown by surveys done under a federal scientific permit. Under the Austin office’s requirements:

- surveys must be done between March 15 and June 1, with at least 60 percent before May 15;
- at least five visits, no more than one in any five-day period;
- in most cases, three years of negative surveys to infer the birds are absent.

That calendar is why the habitat question has to come early. A survey season missed in spring cannot be made up in summer.

## How it fits with the rest of the job

Mature cedar-oak woodland usually has oaks worth keeping too, and the oak wilt calendar, February through June, overlaps the survey window. See the [oak wilt guide](https://arcadytemplelandclearing.com/guide/oak-wilt-and-land-clearing/). Clearing that is only young cedar regrowth goes ahead like any other [mulching](https://arcadytemplelandclearing.com/forestry-mulching/) job, and the cedar stays gone, as the guide on [whether brush grows back](https://arcadytemplelandclearing.com/guide/will-brush-grow-back-after-clearing/) explains.

## Who to ask

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Austin Ecological Services Field Office handles the golden-cheeked warbler. Its current species range information is published through the Service’s online conservation system. The [Bell County rules guide](https://arcadytemplelandclearing.com/guide/land-clearing-rules-bell-county/) lists the warbler alongside the other rules that can touch a clearing job, and ranch owners should also read [clearing ag land and property taxes](https://arcadytemplelandclearing.com/guide/clearing-ag-land-and-property-taxes/) before a change of use.

Delisting of the warbler has been debated and litigated in recent years. Check the current status with the Service before relying on any older advice.

For a walk-through of a cedar tract, call or send photos below.

Questions

## Questions about this guide

### What does golden-cheeked warbler habitat look like?

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service describes woodland with mature Ashe juniper, about 15 feet tall and 5 inches across or larger, mixed with oaks, elms and other hardwoods, often on moist canyon slopes, with a canopy that is 50 to 100 percent closed.

### When can warbler surveys be done?

Only between March 15 and June 1, with at least five visits and most of them before May 15. Showing the birds are absent from a property generally takes three years of negative surveys.

### Who decides whether my land is habitat?

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Austin Ecological Services Field Office handles the golden-cheeked warbler. Biologists with the right federal permit conduct surveys.

Service

## Related service

- [**Cedar Clearing** Ashe juniper mulched or cut below the green, for good.](https://arcadytemplelandclearing.com/cedar-clearing/)

Guides

## More guides

- [Learn**How Do You Clear Land Without Spreading Oak Wilt?** Oak wilt enters through fresh wounds, and clearing makes wounds. Here is when it matters most and how clearing around oaks is planned.](https://arcadytemplelandclearing.com/guide/oak-wilt-and-land-clearing/)
- [Learn**What Rules Apply to Land Clearing in Bell County?** Cities, the county, the state and federal agencies each control part of a clearing job. Here is who regulates what, address by address, and what each rule changes on the ground.](https://arcadytemplelandclearing.com/guide/land-clearing-rules-bell-county/)
- [Learn**Will Brush Grow Back After Clearing?** Some of it will, and which part depends on what was growing and how it was cut. Here is what comes back, species by species, and why.](https://arcadytemplelandclearing.com/guide/will-brush-grow-back-after-clearing/)
- [Decision Guide**Forestry Mulching vs Clearing and Grubbing: Which Does Your Land Need?** Mulching leaves roots and chips in the ground; grubbing takes them out. The right one depends on what the ground will carry next.](https://arcadytemplelandclearing.com/guide/forestry-mulching-vs-clearing-and-grubbing/)
- [Learn**Will Clearing Land Affect Your Ag Valuation?** Clearing brush to improve grazing keeps land in agricultural use. Clearing it for a house can be a change of use. Here is the difference, and what to ask before you start.](https://arcadytemplelandclearing.com/guide/clearing-ag-land-and-property-taxes/)