Quality habitat for deer and other wildlife species is a combination of: 1) many different species (high diversity) of tree seedlings, shrubs, and herbaceous vegetation (wildflowers, grasses), especially those of high preference by deer, in the understory; 2) dense understory of these seedlings, shrubs and herbaceous vegetation, which provides abundant forage for deer and other wildlife species, and protection from predators and severe weather conditions; and, 3) multi-layered overstory, including trees of various sizes, with a component of coniferous trees (pines and hemlock) especially along stream bottoms for winter cover.  Quality habitat is produced when deer are in balance with food and cover, and when the forest provides a variety of openings and understory and overstory vegetation of various ages and sizes that are available for deer to use. 

     The goals for quality habitat are:

• High understory plant diversity - Typically, there are ~ 10 or so different species of overstory trees at any given place on the Kinzua Quality Area.  Most common are American beech, black cherry, red maple, eastern hemlock, white ash, birches (black and yellow).  Less common are the oaks (red and white), yellow poplar, aspen, white pine, and basswood.  During the last 50 years of heavy browsing by an overabundant deer herd, preferred tree seedlings (red maple, sugar maple, eastern hemlock, basswood, yellow poplar, aspen, birches, and white pine) have been nearly eliminated or heavily reduced, leaving the less-preferred species of American beech, black cherry, and striped maple as the primary seedlings now found in the forest.  Similarly, at one time there were many abundant shrubs on the Kinzua Quality Area, including striped maple, hobblebush, elderberry, devil's walking stick, serviceberry, and witch hazel.  Finally, at one time the forest floor was covered with a carpet of wildflowers, including trillium, wild lily of the valley, jack-in-the-pulpit; now only scattered and non-vigorous examples of these plants are rarely encountered.  The diversity goal is for at least 10 different tree species, 5 different shrubs, and each of the three wildflowers to be recorded in annual understory surveys.
• High understory plant abundance - Currently, more than 50% of plots taken in annual/bi-annual understory surveys on the Kinzua Quality Area have no regeneration, no shrubs, and no desired herbaceous plants on them.  The abundance goal is for at least 75% of plots to have seedling regeneration, shrubs and desired herbaceous plants on them.
• Variety and abundance of forest openings - Deer and other wildlife need large and small forest openings for the forage and hiding cover they provide.  Windstorms create some openings, but timber harvest adds to the size and number of openings with critical food and cover.  Unfortunately, because deer numbers were too high in the recent past, foresters had to fence timber harvest areas to protect seedlings from deer.  Fenced openings exclude deer from critical food and cover areas.  If deer abundance can be brought down to, and kept at, goal levels, then foresters can remove existing fences, and won't need to put up new fences in the future.  The deer impact goal is for deer impact to be low enough so that foresters can begin to take down existing fences, and forgo new fences for new timber harvest areas.
• Variety and abundance of midstory and overstory trees -  Deer (and other wildlife) need dense thickets of sapling trees for hiding cover; and dense overstory tree cover, especially conifers such as hemlock and white pine, for protection from cold, heat, wind, and rain and snow.  Currently, sapling and maturing trees are in good supply on the Kinzua Quality Area, but proportion of conifer cover is low.  Studies have shown that diversity of wildlife species and deer thermal habitat are enhanced when conifer trees make up approximately 10% of all trees.  The tree goal is for proportion of conifers as overstory trees to meet or exceed 10%.