I hunt in 5C in an areas where the valleys are excellent farmland and the ridges are wooded. All of the land is hunted hard both in archery and rifle and the herd has been reduced to a point where ARs made very little difference in the buck we are seeing. The PGC claims our
forest health is poor , yet an area that was cut 3 years ago has poplar seedlings that are 8ft. high and the pawlonia are 12-15 ft. high. Where there is adequate sunlight it is so thick you can't walk through it. But the oak seedlings are only a ft. high and will have little chance of out growing the poplar ,ash and pawlonia.

Personal observations are an interesting snapshot of conditions in a small area, but they don't have much significance when discussing the success or failure of ARs and the current deer management plan.