First of all,ferns are not a main main source of a whitetails diet.Even if they were,they would do the deer no good during the critical winter months.I agree that mast is a good thing but it's notpredictable from year to year.We had a tremendous mast crop last year and a mild winter.Have you noticed the higher recruitment rate?I have.Mountain laurel is not a prefered browse species.Deer eat it during the winter when they have no other choice.Sproulman is correct in a way.This summer has been very wet and humid.It's perfect growing conditionsfor a variety of plants.Generally,deer can find enough food this time of year.The problem is that deer need high quality browse to survive during hard winters.They don't have that on Rockton mountain.The over winter deer density is what is critical and what must be monitored.If we didn't have for seasons,the carrying capacity wouldbe much higher.You have to stop worrying about what's out there now for the deer to eat and the mast crop.You have to consider what's out there for the deer to eat in the winter.Mountain laurel is not a good food source.You'll never find anyone with any knowledge about deer to agree with you about that area having good habitat.Try to go out in those woods and find at least three pounds of high quality browse.That's what each deer needs to eat in order to make it through the winter.You'll have a hard time doing.Imagine whatdamage 40+ deer can do to an area with little browse after several months.You need to take your blinders off.That are has some of the worst habitat around.It's a textbook case.

To the best of my knowledge,they still have to fence all of the timber sales in that area.I have a meeting with the district foreser tomorrow so I'll find out for sure.They leave the tops on the ground to help keep the deer out and they eventually decay,putting nutrients back into the soil.

They aren't saying all of 2E has 10 dpsm.Besides,that's an overwinter deer density,not a pre-hunt density.No where in 2E will they have a pre-hunt density of 10 dpsm.they actually said that area of the SF averaged out at 16 dpsm.That would put the prehunt density at well over 20 dpsm.

They area where they found the 126 dpsm was on state forest land.Access is closed to motor vehicles now but you can walk in.Most of that are is not posted.Besides,the survey was done in March,several months after hunting season.Deer go where there's food and cover.They where in that area because they didn't have to travel for food because of the big mast crop in that laurel.Again,no one is trying to say that area is loaded with food.the deer concentrated in the few areas that had adequate food for that time of year.

I used to hunt that area quite a bit and still do occassionally during turkey season.Most of my time is spent in 2G.I hunt the dmap area on the other side of the interstate and SGL 93 AND sgl 77.Both of those SGL's have plenty of deer as does the state forests in many places.I did have a dmap for that unit two years ago.I killed a doe during the early muzzleloader seasonnear Kelly cellar.I saw plenty of deer in that area.

Just the fact that you think the habitat is fine in that area tells me you're in total denial.Deer should not have to rely on ferns and mountain laurel.Things are looking better in many areas aorund there now that the herd has been reduced.For the first time in decades,stump sprouts and saplings are getting past the reach of the deer.Once again,show me a stump sprout in that area that's over 5 years old.You can't do it because they don't exist.The habitat in that area isone of the most pitiful examples in the state.