"First, all habitat quantity and quality, not just "forest habitat health" will affect deer health. Deer health depends on habitat because deer get their nutrition from the habitat in which they live. However, we only consider "forest habitat health" in making management recommendations.

Other habitat types can provide nutrition to deer, but are not a part of our "forest habitat health measure".
For example, in agricultural landscapes, deer can impact forest health, but forests are not the only type of
In agricultural areas, deer can impact forests significantly, yet still be healthy because of the high nutrition plane in the ag land.

Compared to forested lands, agricultural lands tend to have better soils with increased nutrient levels that grow plants that are more accessable to deer.

Second, the measurement of forest habitat health does not dictate what deer health will be.