In short, I liked the article. It came from a guy that has "earned his stripes" and it also came from his heart. He's not a guy with no experience or who just arrived on the scene. I respect his opinion.
This last winter made me reach back to the previous bad winter in Western Wyoming (Was it 17-18?) . A G&F employee (who I won't name) called me and asked if I could help develop a ration for feeding the deer in Western Wyoming that winter. I laughed and said I could help, but Z and W Mill in Torrington actually already has a deer ration that they developed for WY G&F. In the winter of 22-23 nothing was mentioned about feeding deer and it would surely have helped. The data from Mr. Dean's article verifies that.
What I would really like is for someone in Western WY to find a landowner who winters a fair number of deer on their deeded ground. Then feed those deer as needed or is appropriate. See how they fare in the long run; maybe for a five-year study. Monitor populations, disease, and predation. All the things that G&F says are negatively affected by feeding. I don't think disease will increase enough to offset the gains made in survival and increased fawn production. And predation may actually decrease if the deer are congregated and a predator control program is in place. It's easier to kill those predators if they are in a smaller area. The project would definitely need to be well defined/constructed so we could measure the results. I'd even pony up some $$ to see that get started. Maybe the Wyoming Wildlife Trust is curious enough that they'd support it if the right folks were involved with the proper structure. .
Ranchers supplement theri cattle and sheep when needed. It's not rocket science to know that well-fed critters breed better, produce more viable young and are in general, healthier than animals that are on a reduced nutritional plane.
To close, I'd also say somebody in Western WY should get Daniel Richins to either do some sort of video (YouTube or ??) or give a presentation on his feeding program and what those results have been. Maybe we could "piggyback" on his feeding and get some solid data to have a better understanding of how the supplemental feeding has benefitted or hampered the deer.
I'm not gonna play the "back and forth" game with the guys that don't agree with what I have written. Don't pick apart what I say, just state your opinion in response to Founder's question. These good questions and threads always get derailed by a few folks that want to argue and pick apart other folks. I'm not into that and won't play those games. Just answer Founder's question. If you want to argue and fight, start your own thread. That bickering and self-righteousness is why I don't visit MM nearly as much as I used to; hint, hint Founder.