Collecting data sets filled with zeroes regarding plant regeneration is a waste of time and money. The deer population in the New York region needs to be driven down, way down toward 5 deer per square mile in order for our forests to begin a slow recovery. Research and deer censuses, fine-tuning for an optimal deer density under a forest recovery-based deer management program, can begin when the deer herd is approaching reasonable levels. Until native plants are regenerating in abundance, there is absolutely no reason to undertake the expensive task of counting deer.