NYS DEC proposed 5 year deer management plan is out

[LanceR]

The DEC's proposed new 5 year plan for managing white tail deer is out and is available to read or download on their website.  It is worth looking through.  The 45 day public comment period is open until about July 25-26.  There are a number of changes proposed and some are pretty big ones.  If you want to have any say in this you need to act soon because there is an awful lot of info to wade through.

They propose moving the opening date for southern zone archery from 15 Oct. to 1 Oct. without lengthening or moving the regular or muzzle loading seasons.  Currently, southern zone bow hunters get an average of 42 days of hunting for their $21.  A southern zone muzzle loading hunter gets 9 days for his $21.  The change would result in a 53 day average for bow hunters with no increase for the regular season or muzzle loading season.  You may want to let the DEC how you feel about this.

For southern zone archery and muzzle loading hunters they will do away with the antlerless deer tags and and change the either sex tags to antlered deer tags in WMUs where they are not issuing DMPs.  They would issue antlered deer tags for those folks.   The reasoning is that if they are not issuing DMPs due to the low deer populations in those WMUs they don't want to keep giving out anterless deer or either sex tags there.  If you have both archery and muzzleloading privileges you would get two antlered tags.

They are expanding the mandatory antler restrictions in Regions 3 and 4.   

There a lots of other possible changes.  If you have any strong feelings about any of them you should submit your comments.  That can be done online or in writing.  You can email your comments to:  deerplan@gw.dec.state.ny.us

The proposed plan is at:  http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/7211.html#DeerPlan

The results of the 2010 hunter survey on antler restrictions (as they exist today) is out.  Note that 6 seasons into antler restrictions the buck take is down over 20% and the total deer take is down 30% in the WMUs with antler restrictions..   Note, also, that nearly 60% of hunters are not satisfied with the results to date but that a lot of them still support antler restrictions in the hope that they will eventually give the desired results.  Whether you are for or against antler restrictions it is food for thought.  That report is at:  http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/27663.html

For a listing of the most recent surveys of deer and bear hunters go to:  http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/74971.html

The DEC has an email list to which they send out any big game news.  If you don't already belong to the DEC's big game email list you can sign up at:  http://lists.dec.state.ny.us/mailman/listinfo/nybiggame

There is another list of general outdoors related topics that comes out every couple of weeks called FieldNotes.  It is at:  http://lists.dec.state.ny.us/mailman/listinfo/fieldnotes

Lance

[mspaci]

ok, so are those antlered tags ok to shoot a doe in areas where there is DMP? Not understanding how that would work?
 

[penrod72]

I see there is a chance of an extended early muzzleloader season in the Couthern Zone - LAnce I hunt just South of you on the Niles/ Moravia line. Hope that season would go in dow there- more chances to hunt would be great, and I think our population could sustain it.

[LanceR]

Penrod and Maspaci, I am on both the NYS Conservation Fund Advisory Board and the Fish and Wildlife Management Board.  I sure don't know all the answers but can usually come up with a correct answer.  If you ever have a NY hunting, fishing or trapping question that deals with regulations, laws or general info put a post here on the "Hunting in New York" forum.  I check it two or three times a weeks and I'll try to get a straight answer for you.

Penrod, as I understand it the only times an early muzzleloading season would be used in the southern zone would be in areas where all the available DMPs were not issued due to a lack of applicants or if one is needed to knock back the overall population in which case they would issue either sex, antlerless or antlered tags depending on what the goals are.

Maspaci, What you would get if you hunted both archery and muzzleloading would be a total of three antlered tags-one each for bow, muzzleloading and the regular season. 

DMPs will be the only way for a southern zone adult hunter to harvest an antlerless deer.  If they follow through with this I will propose a change to the law on license fees to drop the $10 application fee for DMPs.  The CFAB was opposed to it anyway and the Office of Budget stuck it in the last price increase.  Neither we nor the DEC had any choice. 

The DEC will use the recent historical average of bow/muzzleloading antlerless deer harvests and use that along with the typical success rate info to issue more DMPs than the istorical average to make up for the lack of antlerless and either sex tags.  There will be no harvesting of antlerless deer (except for 12-15 year old hunters) in any wildlife management unit (WMU) where they don't issue DMPs.

Lance

[mspaci]

ok thanks, would you be allowed to fill all three tags? Or just 1 buck? Just wondering as I really dont have a problem with shooting just 1. Thanks again,  Mike

[LanceR]

mspaci, You would be able to fill all three but that would conflict with the push some sportsmen are making to limit folks to one buck due to thinking that doing so would lead to bigger bucks for all. 

I get pretty frustrated with the recent mania by a very vocal minority within the state who think that a huge racked big bodied buck is the only deer that matters. The phenomena is relatively new and it's rise coincided with the proliferation of cable TV shows where highly paid professional hunters were taking big bucks on canned or guided hunts.   

I have very little patience with so-called sportsmen who decide that their desire to take ever larger game or fish should trump anyone else's desires.

Lance

[mspaci]

ok thanks for the info

[FLNT4EVR]

the entire thing has to do with the control of NY gun owners. Most of us are getting older ,and know how it used to be. We hate change. If they keep changing the regulations, And make it harder and harder for us to enjoy hunting, We will give up. NYS will cry about a lack of participation,a loss of Revenue,and within 10 yrs do away with hunting in NY altogether. Once ther is no hunting,WHAT DO YOU NEED A GUN FOR. and then it will begin.

[WNY_Whitetailer]

If you just want to download the .pdf file, go here:


http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/wildlife_pdf/draftdeerplan0611.pdf

[LanceR]

One important thing to keep in mind id that the Proposed 5 year management plan is just that-a plan.

Any changes from the current structure would require either a new law to change or would go through the standard 45 day comment period followed by a review of comments and then a decision.  Nothing in the proposed plan is a "done deal"

Lance

[Mike103]

I like the plan for the most part.
 
Not in favor of more AR restrictions though.
 
Where I hunt in 4P bucks are hard to find.
 
I think it should be one buck per year period.
 
 

[LanceR]

Mike, I agree with you on the ARs.  Personally, I feel that one hunter's desire to harvest bigger bucks with bigger antlers should not restrict the choices offered to another hunter.  I am especially concerned with the amount of mis and dis-information spread around by some of the AR proponents.

The selfishness of the AR supporters in the part of 3A that sought legislation to get their way is pretty disturbing.  The facts on the ground didn't support the expansion of ARs so they worked with a few legislators to get a late bill through before the 2011 session ended that mandates ARs in part of 3A.  In their selfishness they have just established that special interest groups can successfully seek legislation to circumvent the long time regulatory process.  The regulatory process gives all sides a chance to speak their minds in a open public comment period and legislation does not.  The regulatory process is based on facts and fact based science.  The legislative route is based only on what one special interest groups wants and screw everybody else.

Now what happens when the folks opposed to hunting and trapping figure this out?  They number almost as many as the folks who do hunt and trap.

We are already hearing of a bass fishing group seeking legislation to change the bass fishing regulations on Oneida Lake, another attempt to legislate a year round coyote season, some folks in Onondaga County want to divert fishing license money to support a County hatchery etc.  The selfish "sportsmen" of 3A have truly opened Pandora's box.

The DEC received about 2000 responses to the proposed deer management plan and they have been working their way through them.  I expect that we'll see the final plan in a month or two.

Lance