BIG-GAME hunting in New York State will have some notable changes this fall – most of which had been talked about, but until last week were never made official.
The most prominent change the Department of Environmental Conservation has made is moving the opening day of the southern zone regular deer season from a Monday to a Saturday. The reason for this is fairly obvious: those who couldn’t take the Monday off from work or school will now be able to enjoy opening day. Also, a switch to a standard Saturday opening day for the early archery season accomplishes similar benefits for bow hunters. It also gives hunters with a rifle and a bow an extra weekend during the season.
A pilot program to expand the buck population will be implemented in two Wildlife Management Units located mostly in Ulster County. The program requires that bucks taken in WMUs 3C and 3J have at least three points on one side to be legal. Young hunters, under the age of 17, would be exempt from the three-point requirement.
The proposal to put an early muzzleloader season in the middle of the bow-hunting season was met with strong opposition from bow hunters. The DEC says the proposal will be deferred until deer numbers recover and the season could have more value as an additional management tool. It won’t matter because bow hunters will never let it happen.
The state is lowering the number of deer management permits in many areas. Approximately 320,000 DMPs will be available this fall, which is a 40-percent decline from last season.
A minor change to the northern zone will change WMUs 6A, 6G, and 6H to allow the taking of deer of either sex during the special muzzleloader seasons.
The regular open seasons for black bear hunting will be advanced in the Catskills to the Monday following the opening weekend for firearms deer hunting. The Allegany bear-hunting season will start one week after the opening of the deer-hunting season. The fall turkey and pheasant-hunting seasons in some areas of western New York will be adjusted to also open on a Saturday and close on the Friday before the regular-season opener in order to maintain the same number of days of hunting.
So this year the southern zone dates will be as follows: early archery season, Oct. 15-Nov. 18; regular season, Nov. 19-Dec. 11; late archery and muzzleloader seasons, Dec. 12 -20 (any leftover tags are valid); black bear seasons: Catskill Range, Nov. 21-Dec. 12; Allegany Range, Nov. 26-Dec. 12.
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Families involved with the Suffolk County and Theodore Roosevelt Councils of the Boy Scouts of America will experience the thrill of outdoor sports during the Trailblazer Adventure Day on June 18 at the Schiff Scout Reservation in Riverhead, L.I.
For more information, contact the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation at (614) 888-4868 or e-mail trailblazer@ussportsmen.org.
