But so is the evolution, or deterioration if you will, of habitat in some areas with 2G being the most significant example.
That is not one of the reasons buck harvests have dropped. The deer in 2G and across the state were healthy before ARs and HR and due to the effects of HR there is a lot more food/deer than there was 10 years ago.
ARs contributed to the drop in buck harvests because more buck are lost to non-hunting mortality which may be as high as 18%. Also ,at least 20% of the 1.5 buck aren't AR legal as 2.5 buck ,which further reduces the harvest. Furthermore, ARs reduce the percentage and number of does in the OW herd so there are fewer doe producing fawns which results in lower buck and doe harvests.