Originally Posted by
DougE
You have no idea what you're talking about.LETTING THE DEER HERD GROW WILL NOT INCREASE OAK PRODUCTION.Thinning the herd,along with sound silvaculture technigues such as shelter wood cuts,burns and herbicides is what get's oak regeneration.If you want oak regeneration,the deer will eat the oaks before they touch the maples.
You guys simply don't get it.It takes very few deer to impact regeneration in areas with poor habitat.
If you got less deer and they are only targeting the hardwood sprouts what is the forest going to be mainly consisted of?
Junk trees and shrubs.
You let these grow and they will block the sun that is needed for plant life.
Now you got more fast growing maples than you ever had before.
Now tell me this?
How do you plan on getting rid of the over abundance and dominant species of maples if the deer herd is reduced so much that they can now be picky about what they eat because there is no competiton over the best browse?
The maples will continue to grow without any predation on that plant from the deer and the target species now is the hardwoods and the junk trees get to grow and choke out the rest of the forest floor.
Where is this controlled burn going on and the harvest of junk trees going on in our SF that you mentioned above?
Not in 2G or 2e in the CLF county area.
Where is this happening that you are talking about?