I'm not claiming the habitat is controlling anything.I'm simply stating that the habitat is very por in mnay of those areas.I hunted at my buddy's place in 2007.the day before the opener,I walked all through his property,checking out potential stand sites.There was nothing for the deer to eat in the woods.It was all northern hardwoods so there was no oak mast and lieterally no browse.Some areas had been cut and nothing was growing past the deer except beech and black birch.Even the hedgerows had nothing of value growing in them.My brother's property was a tangled mess after a tornado several years ago.Today,there should be a ton of browse in there but the huge deer herds in that area ate it all.Five years ago,you couldn't crawl through there.Today it's open enough to shoot through.You're sadly mistaken if you think that deer can't or won't effect the habitat in that part of the state.By the way,I can show you places where multiflora rose has to be bulldozed.

The tornado that hit Wyoming county didn't happen several years ago , it happened 20 years ago and what you are seeing is the normal progression of a clearcut to pole timber and we all know pole timber has little if any browse due to intense shading not due to deer. I have observed the the same normal progression of forest growth all across NE PA and it had nothing to do with too many deer.

You are a classic case of someone seeing what they want to see and what they told to expect, rather than the true cause and effect which created the conditions you observed.

Sorry Charlie.The torndao happened in June of 1998.It was a bad one.In fact there were 30 some tornado's in Pa that day and the only fatalities were within 1 mile of my brother's house.Doa google search.The last time I huntedat my brother's place was three years ago and the overbrowsing was very evident back then.His santuary was no longer a santuary.Don't worry though,he doesn't think he had too many deer either.We must not have the same genes because he rarely ever shoots a doe.

Try again. I did the search before I made my post.
I was working for DEP when that tornado hit and I retired in July 1998. I know the exact house where that guy died and if I am not mistaken it was the house where Ben Pherrigo used to live. Does that name ring a bell?

Went up to camp in 3A Friday afernoon, to do some work and help my cousincut upthe logs he skidded in around camp over the winter, intofirewood. Cut about a cord and half to bring home this summer for next winter's heat and cut over 3/4s of next winter's camp stovewood.

Took about an hour's trudge yesterday. Far less over winter browsing than was common6 to8 years ago, about the same as thepast few springs. Found lots of pellets in the browsing areas (mostly cherry, sugar maple and apple browsein theareas I looked most closelyat). It's a series of gullies running downhillbetween two hayfields and woods above the gullies. Has alway seen lots of "use" during the winters.

Saw no deer while out, but they've beenrunning the tractor andATV trails all winter. Doubt they had much winter mortality in them parts. What deer I did see in the area whileup, looked fine for mid-March.

I'm not talking about the 1988 tornado.In 1998 there was a very bad torndao where an old woman and her grandson were both killed just outside of Lake carey in a small trailer park.It was a pretty wide swath.The edge of it hot my brother's property pretty hard.

That name doesn't ring a bell.I don't remember anyone dying in that one.

Google "tornadoes in Wyoming county".It happened on june 2nd 1998 and was an F2.

Why doesn't the tornado site list a tornado in 1998? I know you are flat out wrong because I was working both Susq. and Wyoming county when it hit and I know the woman and her grandson did not live in the trailer court. Call your brother if you don't believe me. Pherrigo owned the landfill east of Tunk.

Holly crap Larry.I may be mistaken about where the lady and her grandson lived but I'm 100% correct about the year.Google what I told you to google.There's a ton of info on that tornado.My father died in dec of 1997 and my brother moved into his house after that.I knowwhen the torndado was.

I don't have a link but here it is word for word from www.tornadoproject.com.
US KILLER TORNADOES OF 1998
June 2,1998 10m CST F3
The town of Lake Carey in Wyoming county Pa suffered total devistation at the hands of one of many tornadoes that occured in PA,NY,MD and WV.mANY HOMES WERE DESTROYED.tWO PEOPLE WERE KILLED IN A MOBILE HOME,AND 9 MORE WERE INJURED.MANY MOBILE HOMES WERE DEMOLISHED.

There you have it.I think you're either living in a time warp or you're starting to seriously lose it.

BELIEVE IT OR NOT THE TORNADO SITE I QUOTED WAS WRONG. SINCE THE TORNADO WAS IN JUN. RATHER THAT AUG. I WAS STILL WORKING FOR DEP. which is why I thought the site was correct and your memory was flawed But after 10 years the browse in the cut would still be reduced by over 50% just due to shading and the underbrush would begin dieing out.