Environment DEC
From the September 2006 issue
2006-2007 Sporting Licenses and Deer Management Permits Available
Hunting, fishing, and trapping licenses and deer management permits (DMP) currently are available for purchase at DEC's 1,600 license sales outlets statewide. They also can be purchased via the internet or ordered by mail or phone. All sporting licenses are valid beginning October 1, 2006 through September 30, 2007.
Southern Zone big-game hunting
season begins November 18;
Northern Zone big-game
hunting begins on October 21
(photo by Scott Bauer)
In addition, areas open to black bear hunting in the Southern Zone have been expanded, the existing antler restriction pilot study has been expanded, and regulations intended to protect against further introduction or spread of chronic wasting disease (CWD) have been modified.
"As DEC kicks off another license year, we continue to help meet the needs of sportsmen and sportswomen by making improvements to better serve the public and protect our natural resources," Commissioner Sheehan said. "These regulation changes reflect a commitment to deer and bear management that is effective at controlling wildlife populations and consistent with human interests."
Changes to Bear and Buck Hunting
Bear hunting will be expanded
to include several new areas in
an attempt to reduce negative
bear-human interactions
During the past decade, black bear populations have grown and expanded their range in the Northern Catskills. Wildlife Management Units (WMUs) 4F, 4G and 4H have demonstrated an increasing trend in the number and frequency of bear nuisance problems in recent years. Bear activity and complaint levels have risen by more than 100 percent in this area since 1999. Expansion of the bear hunting area to include WMUs 4F, 4G and 4H is expected to result in a significant reduction in negative bear-human interactions while providing additional hunting opportunities.
DEC has also expanded the pilot antler restriction program in the Southern Catskills to include WMUs 3H and 3K located primarily in Sullivan County as a result of strong support among local sportsmen and women based on deer populations. The pilot antler restriction program was initiated in WMUs 3C and 3J in 2005 and is intended to expand the age structure of the buck population. This harvest strategy requires that bucks taken in WMUs 3C and 3J and now also WMUs 3H and 3K have at least three antler points on the same side to be legal. Hunters under 17 years of age are exempt from the three-point requirement.
Updated CWD Regulations
Chronic wasting disease regulations have been updated in response to the finding of the disease in a moose in Colorado and deer in West Virginia. Hunters bringing carcasses into New York State from West Virginia must now process them to remove tissues of concern prior to import, and moose have been added to the list of susceptible species that previously included deer and elk.
More than 8,000 wild deer have been tested for CWD in the state following the discovery of CWD in two wild and five captive deer in April 2005, and no additional animals have tested positive for the disease. Special restrictions are in place within the state's CWD containment area of Oneida and Madison counties, governing how harvested deer and specific deer parts may be possessed, transported and disposed. Mandatory testing of all deer taken in the containment area will be occurring again this fall, as well as random testing in other counties throughout New York State. New this fall, successful hunters in the containment area will have the option to bring either only the deer head or the entire field-dressed carcass to the Oneida Deer Check Station.
Please use the links below for details about hunting, trapping, licenses, DMPs and CWD in New York State.
