Question
This past winter deer ate most of our globe cedars. It is a mess. We can tear them out & plant new ones, leave them, or can we cut them down to about 1 foot off the ground and restart them that way? Our climate is northern Canadian plains.

Answer
I would leave them as is until the new growth starts then you can cut the dead parts off. You may find more of the tree is alive than you thought. Of course this depends on the size of the trees. I would wait and see what sprouts back before I started over. The root system that is there is established and can compete better then a newly planted tree. Next year treat the plants with deer repellent to slow down this browsing