White-tailed Deer Use of Small-Area Fuelwood Cuttings in West Virginia

Six slash-disposal treatments were applied to 24 O.05-ha plots in a mixed hardwood forest in northern West Virginia to determine white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) use of small fuelwood cuts. Fuelwood harvest resulted in an increase in woody stems during the first year following cutting, but there was no significant effect by type of slash-disposal treatment on number of stems that regenerated. Deer use, as evidenced by pellet groups, differed among treatment plots, yet no consistent preference for specific treatments was detected. All treatment plots, except improvement cut plots, received higher deer use than did control plots.