Attention New Hunters and Junior Hunters!
Do you want to hunt public land on Long Island?
NYSDEC has a special program to make it easier for new hunters to hunt in the Rocky Point Natural Resources Management Area and in the Otis G. Pike Preserve (formerly Navy Cooperative Area).
These are the two most popular public hunting areas on Long Island. They are stocked with pheasants three times a week during November and December and offer native game as well. We require reservations to hunt them on weekends, holidays and November 1. Reservations can only be made by phone, and many people call, so it can be very hard to get a spot. But we would like to help new hunters obtain reservations.
If you are a junior hunter, or an adult who took the firearms hunter education course within the past two years, we will allow you to call in for reservations during the half hour before we start taking reservations for everyone else, so you should have an excellent chance of getting a spot. You will need to show proof that you are a new hunter on the day of the hunt--either a junior license or the certificate from your hunter education course.
You may bring two other people with you. Someone other than the new hunter may call to make the reservation, but when the party shows up to hunt, at least one member must be a new hunter.
You can make reservations by calling 631-924-3156 on Saturday and Sunday mornings from 7:45-8:15 am. Call on Saturday to reserve for the following Saturday, on Sunday to reserve for the following Sunday. To make reservations for November 1, Election Day or Veterans Day, call on the Sunday before the date, but if November 1 or Veterans Day fall on a Monday, call two Sundays before the date. For more information about this or other hunting opportunities call 631-444-0273.
Remember - Safety First
