ORIGINAL: bluebird2
In 2003 the understory in 2G was sufficient to support a herd that produced a harvest of over 30,000 deer. Just two years later it only supported a harvest of only 11,200 deer ,simply because of the over harvest in 2003. The open understory is what one would expect to find in healthy stands of pole and saw timber where intense shading prevents the development of seedlings and saplings.
The browse line in a mature forest as you describe is far above the reach of the deer. Plain and simple. Again, I ask you, what is there for the deer to feed on in that enviornment? Virtually nothing. The heydays of deer hunting in the mountains was during and after the huge timbering operations took place. Just look at some of the old pictures of camps years ago. Nothing but slashings in the backround, for the most part. Plenty of cover, plenty of food. The deer herd thrived and grew. That is a far cry from the situation that exists today, and one of the prime reasons the deer needed to be thinned out before they starved out due to lack of feed. The diminishing of the deer herd in the mountains started years before the herd reduction program started. The maturing of the forests and the lack of adequate browse played a giant role.