It's cool when I see cedar seedlings naturally generating on my property. ~99% of the time the deer kill them though. They're a neat tree.

Carefull what you wish for, they can take over easy and quick.

around here they don't stand a chance with all the deer

No naturally occurring cedar around here at all. But the neighbor brought a few back from Kentucky and they seem to do well.

We have eastern red cedar around here. The deer don't seem to bother them, probably because of the spiky needle/leaves. We have eastern white cedar (arborvitae) also. Deer will nibble on them but they are too busy eating everything else to bother them much.

Same here and I immediately fence them when I find them. In 50 years there won't be any white cedar left here.

Red cedar is a plague here. Spend most winters clipping cutting stacking an burning

Invasive species. Good thing is they don't handle fire well.

I love hunting where there are some 5-6' cedars around. It means I can sit on the ground and still draw my bow if I position myself in the right spot....deer walks along and the cedar gets between me and the deer.....draw bow, dead deer.

On the public land here the corps has gone in a cut down acres of cedar stands....they were great bedding areas....

Here too.

rRed and white cedars here take a beating from the deer, unless they're 10 foot or bigger. They keep trying though, seedlings and saplings are a major winter food source here.

I have a couple big ones(eastern white cedar) in the back yard.
This past summer/fall a red squirrel cut off all the nuts and new yellow tips and made two big middens out of the cuttings.
The middens were full of mushrooms and other stuff the little bugger was "squirreling away" for winter.
I've been stocking up a few beaver carcasses in the bait shed and now have a skunk living under the shed in the old mink hole from last year.
I'll let him prime up a bit then take care of him.
There was a groundhog living in the mink hole for a while but I think a fox got him last summer when he went to the creek down in the gully behind the skinning shed for a drink.

I thought about using bud caps but I think you're right that a fence would be needed in most cases

If you have cedars that is a sure Tell sign of shitty land. Land will not perk. Cedars thrive in pipeclay and crappy land

They used to pay farmers to remove them around here. Some giant scissors that attached to the front of a bobcat can take out a lot in a hurry. The place I turkey hunt in NE has had 1000’s taken out. Makes it easier to see the birds but also killed the sneak for us. Used to be able to sneak up on a strutter with some wind to cover you as you can get away with a ton of movement. Making a turkey to gobble from a few feet is a rush.

That’s a bummer. I was going to plant a few along with some Hemlock.

I have about 35 acres of White cedar along a northern lower Michigan trout stream. Some of the jumbos I have harvested aged over 300 years old, but rings have to be counted several feet up the trunk as the butt log is almost always hollow. I think 350 years may be closer. I do see deer browsing but the regeneration is massive, it out paces the deer feeding. The swamp is bordered by steep hills into oak pine uplands. Seedlings seem easy to transplant, I have planted small groves on my waterfront at home.

In the area I turkey hunt, all the farmers hate turkeys and blame them for spreading the cedars. Im glad it’s their belief, whether true or not. Lots of friendly waves from the locals.

They're pretty neat lining your private road with the branches trimmed off to about 10 ft, and handy for nailing fence wire to. Make superb "Rabbitat" when hinge cut to lay down on a multiflora rose patch.

There's a pretty fair cottage industry in the Ozarks using red cedar for tourist crap to sell at road side stands. Wood smells great, and burns hot in the stove.

I got the distinct feeling that we are talking about 2 different species of cedar. We have red cedar in my neighborhood. Nastiest weed tree on the planet so bad paper mills won't take it for pulp. I don't know much about white cedar. Somehow I think there's a difference. Just my 2 cents.