Post by biggtrout on Feb 9, 2008 22:41:30 GMT -4
Here's my take on how we might be able to turn around the deer eradication mess.
We have to get The PGC and DCNR headed in the right direction with their forestry practices - currently they manage those forests as veneer tree farms and have almost no concern for the health of the forest - they just blame everything on deer and say kill all the deer because they eat everything.
PA forestry woes took decades to develop and certainlyare NOT all attributable to deer. The forestry practices - clear cuts that were never thinned as they matured into pole timber forests and then mature forests are one of the main issues to confront. The other is acid rain.
As for the forestry practices, I suggest we lobby The DCNR, PGC to start conducting extensive thinning programs in pole timber forests and also start thinning out the maturing forests as well. These will open up the canopy and allow seedlings, saplings and other plants on the forest floor to become established - plus make growing new forests MUCH easier.
Here is one link to a publication:
pubs.cas.psu.edu/freepubs/pdfs/uh144.pdf
I can provide other files for techincal references, but right now I don't have those links.
Next, the fencing around regeneration areas ALL needs to come down - and all regeneration areas need to be opened up for the game to utilize - and all the current and all future regeneration areas need to have soil tests conducted - then limed and fertilized to mitigate the affects of acid rain.
By accomplishing these two main forestry reforms, nearly ALL of PA's forests could easily sustain a winter-time deer density of 21+ deer per square mile - which translates into a pre-hunting season density of 36 or so deer per square mile. Sensible numbers for sustainable deer management coupled with sustainable forestry practices.
These deer density goals have been studied by The USDA and have found to have NO detrimental affects on forest regeneration or species composition - therefore, something the DCNR and PGC should go along with.
We have to get The PGC and DCNR headed in the right direction with their forestry practices - currently they manage those forests as veneer tree farms and have almost no concern for the health of the forest - they just blame everything on deer and say kill all the deer because they eat everything.
PA forestry woes took decades to develop and certainlyare NOT all attributable to deer. The forestry practices - clear cuts that were never thinned as they matured into pole timber forests and then mature forests are one of the main issues to confront. The other is acid rain.
As for the forestry practices, I suggest we lobby The DCNR, PGC to start conducting extensive thinning programs in pole timber forests and also start thinning out the maturing forests as well. These will open up the canopy and allow seedlings, saplings and other plants on the forest floor to become established - plus make growing new forests MUCH easier.
Here is one link to a publication:
pubs.cas.psu.edu/freepubs/pdfs/uh144.pdf
I can provide other files for techincal references, but right now I don't have those links.
Next, the fencing around regeneration areas ALL needs to come down - and all regeneration areas need to be opened up for the game to utilize - and all the current and all future regeneration areas need to have soil tests conducted - then limed and fertilized to mitigate the affects of acid rain.
By accomplishing these two main forestry reforms, nearly ALL of PA's forests could easily sustain a winter-time deer density of 21+ deer per square mile - which translates into a pre-hunting season density of 36 or so deer per square mile. Sensible numbers for sustainable deer management coupled with sustainable forestry practices.
These deer density goals have been studied by The USDA and have found to have NO detrimental affects on forest regeneration or species composition - therefore, something the DCNR and PGC should go along with.