Inplaces where the food supply is not supplemented, the deer will eat themselves right out of thier habitat and destroy it. The food supplydisappears and the deer numbers crash.In places where the food supply is supplemented, the forest habitat takes a pounding, but the numbers don't crash as bad because of crops to eat. but then get a hard winter and see what happens, with huge deer numbers and no winter browse.
I live "there", Ryan. What I'm witnessing here is the herd correcting itself. If our fawn mortality rate isn't over 60%......I'd be surprised. This is NOT due to predators, alone. They're handling their own issues, "naturally". In places where the herd is not as dense as the one I hunt.....and the climate is similar, fawn survival rate is sometimes greater than 1:1.....meaning the herd is replenished to the tune of more than 1 fawn that survives per doe (less deer density areas).
I don't think we have a handle on how well they are at taking care of themselves.