Deer Browsing in Northern Hardwoods after Clearcutting

There is a close relationship between management of forest land for timber and management for game. This is especially evident in the use of cutting practices that yield both timber and deer browse. The relationship reaches almost symbiotic proportions in northern hardwoods after clearcutting for stand regeneration. Usually an abundance of woody vegetation — both commercial and non-commercial species —is produced; and much of this can be utilized by deer with no undesirable effect on the composition and growth of the future stand. Under light to moderate browsing, seedlings of commercial species may actually undergo less competition because deer prefer the faster-growing sprouts. And stands of seedling origin are generally thought to be of higher quality than those of sprout origin. This article was written by James S. Jordan for the U.S. Forest Service (Research Paper NE-57).

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