As many of you have said the deer will survive but it thriving is questionable. Deer do thirve on young saplings found in clear cuts but the larger threat comes from the loss of deer wintering yards and on a larger scale I do not blame the forest industry (well not solely or even mostly) or DNR for the shape our forests are in. I tend to point the finger more towards members of the provincial legislator. These are the people high up on the totem pole that are always looking for the quickest way to get ahead, cutting funding to new brunswicks department of natural resources and making the decisions on how our forest will be managed.
A prime example of this is in 2007 a survey was conducted by a task force, hired by the provincial government to determine how the the public uses its forests and its views towards how our forests are managed. The survey found that the majority of people in the province had a low level of satisfaction with forest management on crown land and industrial freehold, had concerns of environmental impact from harvesting/road construction and felt that there should be more control over this, and had the lowest level of satisfaction with how the government involves the public in natural resource decisions. Upon completion of the survey DNR had organized a tour of the province to present its results but at the last minute government canceled its sponsorship.
(the results of the survey can be seen here \www.gnb.ca/0078/publications/Forestsurvey-e.pdf).
Then, after the Erdle report came out (which only identified different options for forest management, it did not choose which one was "best") the government went ahead and increased area available for plantation from 11% to 28%, and reduced conservation forest (this includes deer yards)from 30% to 23-25%. This was to maintain fiber supply which was the lowest priority of the public of DNRs existing management priorities.
The erdle report can be seen here
http://www.gnb.ca/0079/ErdleReport-e.asp.
With all that being said, I really do not blame the forest industry, after all a mans gotta eat and money puts food on the table. In my opinion you can't blame them for utilizing a good that our government lets them have their way with. Nor do I blame DNR, these people are fishers and hunters just like the rest of us and love the great outdoors enough to choose a career that puts them there the vast majority of the time, they are understaffed with the majority of permanent retiree jobs not being filled. It is impossible for a few people to do the same job that many once did to the same level.
Sorry for the long winded response, I was bored and this topic is one that really intrigues me.
