I would like to see where a Pennsylvania forested mountain is dieing of old age. A 3 foot thick oak is just getting started. The trees can't beat the diseases and are in real trouble when they are 2 foot thick. The problem is the scrap trees are able to fight off a lot of the diseases and insects killing the good timber. If you get over to Hickory Run State Park, check out the stands of oak and beech in there. Allegedly that place burned so many times they just about gave up on it. I was up there the other year and I saw the infestation (Forget what it is called) attacking the Hemlocks. Some of the beech trees have the blight, most of the oaks that took the gypsy moth hit are down and gone, but something else is after them. Excuse me, but I am really pissed off at the GC and DNR in Pa. We told them something has been attacking the laurel for years and they talk down to you and say it is the deer eating it. Well NOW, the laurel has a blight. I guess they could not see the orange spots on the leaves 15 years ago because of all the deer in the way. The forests are dieing off but it is not from deer or old age.

All that nonsense about the herd being out of balance. In the heavy wooded areas I actually think it was 50-50 buck to doe 40 years ago. Only a 3 day doe season but it was a slaughter. Enough to keep up with the buck kill. If you shot a young doe it was a good chance it was a button buck. Now it is screwed up beyond belief (And maybe repair) in a lot of places. What in the world makes people think there should be more buck than doe in a herd? I used to think the GC was God when I was younger. Like everything else in this country they are nothing but paper pushers anymore. I doubt they could manage a hot dog stand even with the DNR helping.