Sagittarius62

Its hard to plant to supplement regrowth - its usually not a viable option unless thinning/cutting has occurred. Especially when the deer population is normal to high - like most ares.

Phade has a couple good suggestions on planting your logging roads.

I know where you are coming from - though our area in NY is about 1200ft - and rolling terrain with Aspen as the dominant soft, hardwood compared to your birch. - but again - I'd caution about introducing invasive species of plants. They may fit the bill perfectly - but usually - the invasive species will not take or will overcrowd (eg- Kudzu, locust, orange osage, etc ).

Below is a couple pictures of a 40 year old "thicket" from the same treestand - taken this week. The dominant species right now is Aspen (big trees) and alder (heavy low cover) - depending on the soil properties.





Ash and Maple are about 15 ft tall, and 2-4" diameter right now - and very present in the undergrowth - especially in the Aspen areas - the alder tends to limit new growth of other tree types.

I assume your canopy is thicker - and not allowing this amount of undergrowth? Maybe your most mature trees are older? Let me know how it compares - A 20-30 year old regrowth should still offer some low growth. Also - its hard to tell - but the Deer actually can have a HUGE impact on undergrowth - and I'd sugest a 20 ft x 20 ft exclusion fence in an area or two - that you monitor over a couple years to see what WOULD come - if the deer allowed it. This type of information may help you decide what to do from a management standpoint. Before our foodplot program (and -to be fair - a couple ice storms)- this area was probably less than 1/2 as thick - I wish I took some pictures to compare.

I know I rambled a bit - but my point is that adding a food type - may not (probably won't) solve the problem.