I hope some of the MN, WI, MI or NY guys chime in for you. I think they will have more practical experience and advice for you. I don't have bear or grouse and I don't have any experience with yarding deer behavior or the snow amounts I am sure you deal with.
I would suspect that the "valley" would be where your best soil is going to be located. Any information you can share as far as what types of trees and shrubs you have and the condition of the understory and the ground in general (wet/dry/sandy/clay) will help as well. Do you have anything that produces mast as a foodsource for deer.....nuts, berries, other fruits and the like? Obviously giving those trees/shrubs/plants the best chance would be great projects. Simply giving them more daylight, reducing competition and maybe a dose of fertilizer can help. As far as traditional foodplots are concerned I would suggest looking into what sort of ag crops can and are growing in the general area. The deer should be familiar with those and would take to them faster. Otherwise I would think you might be limited to cool season plantings.....clovers, cereal grains (oats, wheat, rye) and brassica (radish, turnips, rape). These will tolerate cooler soil and air temperatures as well as shorter growing season to reach maturity as well. Looking in the general area tends to tell you what will grow best as those folks are trying to get the most out of that ground. Cover is always important as well as a strong understory. A good understory provides cover as well as browse for deer as well.....so if the trees you have a very mature and your understory is weak you may need to consider some logging. If you want to try planting trees and shrubs stay with native plants as much as possible or those specifically suited for your hardiness zone.....you mentioned the neighbor had fruit trees. You may want to find out what varieties those are and if they do well.
This is all pretty general stuff on my part simply because I am not familiar enough with your area and the like. The basics say look at what works in other areas around you. Look at what cover in your area holds the animals you want to hold and try to replicate that. Find the foods those animals like in your area and try to provide that. In many cases you don't have to "invent" anything. You simply need to provide more or a better quality of what is in your area that those targeted wildlife species like. From a hunting perspective you have to lay those things out as best you can to ensure you can hunt without educating the animals in the process. Sorry I can't be more specific.....