I can only guess that the deer are choosing different routs. My land has seen the opposite. I have been seeing more rubs and scrapes every year. I think my situation is due to the outfitters not w horeing off the land next to me. In years past, an outfitter was bringing hunters in every day of the week and shooting anything that moved. It got so bad, Icould go most of the season and only see one or two deer. I went a few seasons with out shooting a buck. Once the land owner sold the property, and the outfitter was gone, I started seeing many more deer.