UNIVERSITY PARK, Pennsylvania — In a new study, a Penn State-led research team discovered evidence that browsing by white-tailed deer had relatively little long-term impact on two tree species in a northern forest. The research took place in both fenced and unfenced plots in a one-square-mile area in the Flambeau River State Forest, Wisconsin, which had an estimated deer density of about 18-31 deer per square mile at the beginning of the study. With seven years of data, researchers examined survival and growth of sugar maple and ash seedlings and saplings with differing light conditions and levels of deer access. …The research is important because deer herbivory has a reputation for suppressing tree seedling development in northern hardwood forests. …The research was funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the McIntire-Stennis Program, Pittman-Robertson funds, and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources divisions of Forestry and Integrated Science Services.