Who refuses to cut trees?That statement is simply ridiculous.How much do you think they should cut per year?

There should be an understory,even in a mature forest and the vast majority of the northern tier has none.There are many shade tolerant speces that should be growing beneath the canopy but decades of deer overbrowsing took care of that.A deer needs several pounds of browseper day,especially during winter when there's no mast to eat.When there's no browse,the deer disappear.Hobble bush is an excellent shade tolerant browse species that used to cover the forest floor of the northern tier.When was the last time you saw it growing?It's been decades because the deer ate it all.

You are 110% wrong that there would be nothing growing on the forest floor if the deer were all gone.DCNR has pre-sale exclosures all over the place around here where they try to get some advanced regeneration prior to a cut.They all have regeneration to some extent.The PGC has put up exclosures under a mature canopy and the growth is spectacular in some cases.Light certainly helps but you can only cut so much per year.You can't just go in and clearcut the entire state.DCNR is mandated to cut areas no bigger than 70acres.If they don't fence the cuts,the deer congregate and destroy most of the regeneration.That's why millions of dollars are spent each year on fencing.When you have good habitat and tyen you cut an area,the deer don't have nearly the impact.When you cut an area that has poor habitat,it takes very few deer to ruin any regeneration.