Comment by JPKab

Apex predators can help, but in places like New Jersey (and hell, the entire Accela corridor) deer are incredibly overpopulated in places too dense with humans for apex predators to tolerate. In those places, we need aggressive bow hunting and culling. But the very noisy and politically powerful "don't shoot Bambi" crowd prevents this. You get sick deer and forests entirely devoid of saplings, and therefore at risk.