I'm not going to openly disagree with Dr. Woods. I didn't hear the full context of his statement. I agree with perch that he probably advocates for doing anything you can. However, I think that money would be better spent elsewhere in most cases. The argument against fertilizing native vegetation is that those plants have already adapted to grow well in the soil conditions where they live. It makes sense to me. The only circumstance under which I would spend money fertilizing native browse is if I had completed all of the other habitat improvements that I desired. Habitat improvement doesn't have to be massive projects that cost lots of money. It can be simple projects like strip discing to promote vegetation growth or hinge cutting undesired hardwoods to promote bedding areas. I think most people could get more bang for their buck by spending money on other habitat improvements versus fertilizing native browse.
way back in the day, I had a lease on DMP and Bill Gray was our guy advising us. He recommended fertilizing native browse in early to late spring. The reason was to provide food with at least 16% protein to provide proper nutrition for antler growth