450 acres have been protected from deer browsing by slash walls at the Arnot Forest since 2017 on 12 regeneration harvest ranging from 1 to 150 acres in size. The above picture was taken in late-July 2020 in one of these harvest that was completed six months earlier. Abundant, unbrowsed oak, maple and cherry seedlings can be seen beneath the shelterwood. The surrounding slash wall and adjacent uncut section can be seen in the upper left-hand corner of the picture. Prior to harvest, the stand had a very dense understory of beech sprouts that were cut to the ground during harvest. Little resprouting of beech has been observed to date.
Sampling is currently being done in the 2017 harvests to evaluate the quality and composition of the regeneration response inside the wall as compared to outside the wall in control treatments. Initial data suggest a clear advantage for regeneration protected inside the slash walls.