This photograph shows a harvest cut that was part of a research study conducted by this research team during the 60's and 70's. The photograph was taken 3 years after a clearcut. On the left, inside the deer-excluding fence, regeneration has developed, fully occupying the growing space. Outside, the forest has become a grassy field as deer browsing eliminated tree seedlings.

Early research by this Research Work Unit showed that high levels of white-tailed deer impact were among the primary causes of regeneration failure in Allegheny Plateau forests. In the study associated with this photograph, 87% of the harvest areas that failed to regenerate outside fences had successful regeneration where white-tailed deer were excluded.