"The area where I hunt in theCatskills, I have yet to see the DEC or anyone from the state selectively timberthe several thousand acres thathave reverted to mature, unproductive forest. "

The state does want to help and if you check the regs you'll see that they will in fact provide a forestry/environmental expert free of charge to anyone for an evaluation on the best way to utilize their private land for wildlife trees etc. HOWEVER, you guys must realize that your idea of mature unproductive forest is a little out of whack with reality, while it may not be optimal for deer its is productive and does provide for a whole lot of other animals. As far as being mature, the real question is mature when compared to what? When the forest is filled with true mature oak trees, maybe then you could consider trimming them down. All of the Catskills /Adirondacks and basically the entire eastern US to the Ohio valley has been clearcut in the recent past. You have never seen nor can you probably imagine a mature forest. A forest where the trees are over two hundred years old with some giants topping 400 years old.(old oak proved for size reference so you mistakenly won'tcall the Catskills pencil farm a mature forest.this example is spread out but other species and other oaks grow more vertical. Imagine a forest where the ground around the trees is dark due to their canopy effect?)

After me or my children/grandchildren have experienced such a thing then you can consider chopping some down for deer. Can you imagine a forest of such beasts? The parks we got now are filled with baby trees and you already want to cut them down. Please reconsider, more than enough deer on private lands and with some good forest management like liming/fertilizer thestate land forests will produce tons of mast. Lets see what the forests can do before we start cutting them down.