The DD is extremely variable throughout the state. In the western counties they have been holding probably betwwen 70-100 dpsm for the last 10-15 years. But the land will only be able to withstand that for so long. that is why they need herd reduction to get it down to around 40-50 dpsm. In the mountain counties with mature forest the habitat can only hold between 10-15 dpsm and if the herd is at 20 then you need HR. I think as deaddeer said it is very good and important for the clear cutting as the regrowth provides a year round food source not just a 2-3 month food source.
The problem occurs when there is not a big enough clear cut to withstand the browsing or to many deer browsing on it that it can't properly regrow with hardwood timber. The better the habitat and the healthier the animal the more it reproduces and the more animals that need to be killed.