Quote :

frank1 wrote :   The same thing that will happen if we harvest 1% of our forests /yr.  The percentage of saw timber will decrease and the percentage pole timber will increase and the carrying capacity will decline.

If it's 1% on a hundred year rotation, how does one increase and another decrease?

You said significant clearcuts... Which will not work as 1%.

There is more to wildlife habitat than just deer this really needs to be looked at as wildlife habitat in general.  Yes deer are what sells hunting liscense but it is not the only concern for the PGC and all outdoorsman as a hole.  

which differs from this from the PGC...



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Quote :

The Game Commission uses forest regeneration— the presence of young seedling and sapling trees— as the primary indicator of forest habitat health, because a healthy forest can maintain and replace itself.

NOTICE it states CLEARLY.. forest regeneration NOT carrying capacity....


Frank continues to write things that appear (on the surface) to support what he is trying to say...

thankfully many of us have other sources to get more accurate and better statements....

Here is a link to another thread in this section where the PGC clearly talks about forest health for the members here...

NOTICE the words CARRYING CAPACITY appear NO where..

just another USP ploy to say something different than what the PGC is saying...

http://drtrout.aceboard.com/270293-10176-4215-0-Deer-Health-Habitat.htm

I never said the goal of the current deer plan was to increase carrying capacity.... that will be a benefit of the current plan IN TIME...

allowing the forest to re-generate for future generations was part of several goals for the deer plan... another important part, that guys like you forget, is by improving the health of our forest many species OTHER THAN deer will benefit....

At many of the habitat and even deer seminars I have attended ,part of all of them was dedicated to show how improved forest health benefits many species of birds and animals, reptiles, amphibians, and yes by allowing trees that are of value to replace themselves the healthy re-generating forest will benefit many non sportmen like the timber industry also,,,

and a healthier forest could even help tourism in this area..

It's not all about deer or carrying capacity...


The fact reamans that a healthy forest can support (carry) more deer than a sick forest or in our case over-browsed and destroyed in many parts..  it will take probably at least a decade to really really see improvements that everyone will notice and understand...

right now is just the beginnings.. and we need help from others to see what improvements are being done in our forests...

most Pa deer hunters have no idea what is growing or not growing in the woods they hunt.. they never had to pay attention to that.. just sit and wait for your deer to come by.. those days are thankfully GONE FOREVER.....

Now folks have to re-learn to hunt deer and in the process learn things we never had to know before..

examples..
I NEVER heard these things discussed until the current deer plan..

recruitment...
buck/doe ratio
age structure
breeding rates
habitat
preffered food sources
forest health
regeneration
concurrent
restrictions
predation
ETC, ETC


all we needed..learned or heard was ----

""SIT AND WAIT ""

frank,