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· collected 2026-09-04 · by TOI Science Desk
Retired Marine Corps veteran Brian Heishman has spent five years restoring his 400-acre ranch in Oklahoma by removing Eastern Red Cedars and allowing native grasses and streams to return. According to USDA reports, Heishman served over two decades in the military and government service before finding a new calling in land management. The restoration effort has been aided by various conservation partners and funding from organizations such as the NRCS and the Farm Service Agency, which helped with equipment purchases and prescribed burns. Despite being accelerated by a 2025 wildfire that destroyed some cedar growth, Heishman's efforts are now showing signs of success, including filling ponds and streams reappearing.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-04,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Retired Marine Corps veteran Brian Heishman has been slowly turning a 400-acre ranch near Pawnee, Oklahoma, into a cedar forest for five years.
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Heishman → retire → years
An overgrown property, choked by Eastern Red Cedars, is showing signs of ecological recovery, with native grasses returning, ponds filling up faster and streams reappearing.
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streams → choke → recovery
For Heishman and his wife, Melinda, the work has become more than just a land management project.
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work → become → project
After more than two decades of military and government service, it has given Heishman a new calling.
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it → give → calling
According to a USDA report, Heishman served five years in the infantry, 16 years in Explosive Ordnance Disposal and a decade as a U.S. government contractor in Iraq.
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Heishman → accord → Iraq
After retiring from his career of service, he searched for a meaningful way to remain active and then the chance to manage the family property was the opportunity.
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chance → retire → property
When Heishman and Melinda bought the land, it had three ponds and large areas thickly covered with Eastern Red Cedars.
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it → buy → Cedars
At first he wondered if he could manage the vast clearing alone, as he had never done such work before.
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he → wonder → work
That changed when he cleared a preliminary 500 feet to set up a firebreak for a prescribed burn.
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he → change → burn
This experience gave him the confidence to take on a much larger restoration effort.
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experience → give → effort
Working with conservation experts
Heishman started working with Duel Brown, the Pawnee County conservationist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service, who helped find practical ways to improve the property.
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who → work → property
With the assistance of Cole Fagen of the American Bird Conservancy, Heishman inked his first contract with the NRCS in 2022.
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Heishman → ink → 2022
Additional contracts with the NRCS Environmental Quality Incentives Program helped the couple install cross-fencing and grazing practices to better manage their livestock and vegetation.
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couple → help → livestock
Also, a Farm Service Agency loan for equipment purchases also sped up the cedar-clearing effort.
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loan → speed → effort
Water management became a priority too.
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management → become → ?
With the help of conservation partners, Heishman restored the dam on the property’s largest pond, improving water availability for cattle.
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Heishman → restore → cattle
The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation also helped stock the ponds with fish to enhance their ecological value.
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Department → help → value
And further guidance on the use of prescribed fire was provided by the Pawnee County Prescribed Burn Association.
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guidance → provide → Association
Wildfire accelerates the transition
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Wildfire → accelerate → transition
Heishman’s efforts were accelerated unexpectedly by a wildfire in 2025.
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efforts → accelerate → 2025
The fire also damaged other trees, including oaks and black walnuts, but it destroyed much of the cedar growth on the east side of the property.
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it → damage → property
Heishman is now removing the last of the tree skeletons and allowing the recovering landscape to take hold.
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landscape → remove → hold
Native grasses are starting to come back in areas once filled with cedars.
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grasses → start → cedars
The ponds on the property are filling more quickly and streams that had dried up are starting to flow again, since there is less competition among trees for water.
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that → fill → water
The changes provide a clear measure of how much the land has changed since Heishman’s restoration work began in 2022.
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work → provide → 2022
Designing a long-term future
Restoration is not a one-time affair for Heishman.
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Restoration → design → Heishman
His next challenge is to keep the progress and not let the Eastern Red Cedars take back the property.
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Cedars → keep → property
He and Melinda hope to build a home on the ranch one day and enjoy the landscape they have spent years restoring.
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they → hope → years
Their experience also offers a more general lesson for conservation: Landowners don’t have to do big restoration projects all alone.
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Landowners → offer → projects
Heishman has transformed an unknown challenge into a long-term stewardship effort by partnering with the NRCS, wildlife agencies, conservation organizations and local prescribed-burn groups.
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Heishman → transform → NRCS
Five years into the project, the changes are becoming more and more apparent.
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changes → become → project
Native grasses are coming back, water is flowing again and a ranch once choked with cedar is slowly being transformed into better range for cattle and wildlife.
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ranch → come → cattle
Restoring the land has become a new way to serve for a veteran who spent much of his life serving others.
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who → restore → others
