Eastern Redcedar (Juniperus virginiana) is found commonly on much of the Great Plains. The tree outcompetes native grasses on the plains.
The Eastern Redcedar doesn’t require more water than other trees but often grows in soil lacking adequate moisture for many plants. Its long fibrous roots enable the tree to survive. The evergreen canopy of a grove of Eastern Redcedars is dense. It outcompetes any other plants beneath it. Lots of pollen results in the potential for lots of trees that grow well and require little care.
In nature, the Eastern Redcedar might be called resilient, a survivor, a keystone plant. The female trees are a predictable winter food source in snow-covered terrain. Its dense canopy is a habitat for deer, rabbits, and other wildlife. The mature size of the tree can adjust to the soil and water of the location, 30 ft. to 90 ft., according to its available resources.
The photo shows a few evergreen Eastern Redcedars among other deciduous trees, seeds possibly distributed by birds.
Before land settlement, wildfires were expected periodically on the plains. Eastern Redcedars were fuel for wildfires and were not quickly extinguished. Today, when groves of trees encroach on a fragile biome that requires specific plants for birds and other wildlife, such as the Sandhills of northern Nebraska, the Redcedar compete too well. An estimation is that the Sandhills have 30 times more Eastern Redcedars than twenty years ago. Oklahoma State University Extension specialists are investigating cedar control studies.
Among the evergreens in this photo are Eastern Redcedars. The volunteer Redcedars in the road right-of-way grow well among hardy grasses.
In mid-February of a snowy winter, berries remain on this Redcedar. Each female tree produces a large amount of fruit. Flocks of migrating birds, such as Cedar waxwings, stop to feed on its branches.
Economic uses of the easy-to-grow Eastern Redcedar have centered around its insect and decay resistance for decks and its light weight for ceilings. The soft wood is also valued as décor. The tree’s value, against concerns of fire hazards around housing areas or the trees limiting pasture grass for livestock in fields, has resulted in efforts to manage the trees with prescribed burns. Lots of challenges for the resilient Eastern Redcedar and its management!
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Plant Exchange Blog 
This was a concern around Oklahoma City when I was there in late 2012, for precisely the reasons you describe here. I had never seen the species before, so found it to be intriguing. I brought a few specimens back, and at least one is female. Junipers are on our ‘do not plant’ list within rural regions. Sadly, fire suppression is partly why wildfires are so much worse here than they are naturally.
Thanks!
Coincidentally, the carpenter at work and I were recently discussing this species. We are familiar with cedar trunks from the East, such as those made by Ethan Allen in Vermont. They are made with wood of Eastern redcedar, even if covered with maple on the outside. However, cedar closets in California are lined with wood of native but unrelated incense cedar because it was more readily available when such closets were built. It took me a while to figure out that they are two distinct species.
Too bad a great use is not found of a plant like Eastern redcedar that grows so predictably.
Now that no one wears fur anymore, and wool is rare, there is not much use for cedar chests or cedar closets. Besides, even if there was, it would not do much to the overpopulation now. While in Oklahoma, I questioned the identity of redwood that was used to make decks and fences. I know redwood when I see it. I was told that it was cedar. That was all I found out about it. I do not know if it is Eastern redcedar. I was impressed that, whatever it is, it produced lumber though. I did not see many big redcedar trees.