this is one of the most intelligent posts i have read on this topic. i would like to know some land use comparisons from the 60's ans 70's and today. seems everywhere i look there is another walmart in what used to be a farmers field or a nice woodlot. how can pa support the deer populatioins of the early 70's with so much less area for them to live?
ORIGINAL: MeatHunter2
No, I didn't mean you were spoiled Butch, sorry. I meant it figuratively.
Well a comparison to the 60's and early 70's, no it is not. But those large herds of that era is what got us into the mess we're in now. If they wouldn't have allowed the herd to grow back then to such a large out of balance population, we wouldn't have to have such current low numbers now.
You know what they say, too much of a good thing will come back to bite you. Well it's back, and we can thank those small but vocal groups who lobbied the board of comm. back then to ignore science and the rest of the citizens, in favor of them. Now we're paying the price. But for some areas the overpopulation took it's toll years before the current changes and our herd reduced themselves, combined with a forest maturing to the pole timber stage of life where it wasn't producing much in the way of good deer food. So we already had lowered numbers to hunt and were kind of used to it.
The good news is with all the current cutting and fencing, we'll see an increase in habitat here in the not too distant future. As my pap used to say, "follow the food".