Kelty, M.J. and R.D. Nyland. 1983. Hardwood browse production following shelterwood cutting. Journal of Wildlife Management, 47(4):1216-1220.

Abstract: White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) browse upon woody twigs in northern hardwood forest of the central Adirondack Mountains of new York from late summer through winter. They use most hardwood species, but avoid American beech (Fagus grandifolia). In many places, prolonged selective overbrowsing by deer at high population levels has resulted in a buildup of dense beech understories (Tierson 1967). When logged, these stands regenerate primarily to beech, with only limited amounts of yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis), white ash (Fraxinus americana), sugar maple (Acer saccharum), and other desirable browse and timber species (Tierson et al. 1966).

Past research at the Archer and Anna Huntington Wildlife Forest Station (Huntington Forest) near Newcomb, New York has shown that a variety of tree species became established and grew rapidly inside fenced exclosures within stands treated to eliminate the beech understory and to reduce the main crown canopy by one-half to one-third (Curtis and Rushmore 1958, Farnsworth and Barrett1966, Tierson et al. 1966). When public hunting reduced the deer density from 11 to 5-6/km2 across the Forest, desirable species also regenerated in areas not protected by exclosures (Behrend et al. 1970). This paper describes the prospective improvement in deer range carrying capacity by adopting a program of herbicide treatment, shelterwood method, and deer density control for regenerating northern hardwood stands.