The problem with setting up conservation ares is that we can only do small amounts of land. Deer thrive on edge spaces between wooded areas and open areas. When you set up a bunch of 100 acre conservation areas you get a larger deer population. As the area gets larger, the population goes down. States that are mostly large conservation or wooded areas actually have less deer than say Wisconsin, where the wooded areas are split up. Natural predators, on the other hand, thrive more in large conservation areas. So the places where natural predators prefer are different from the deer's favorite places.