PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE State Administrative Procedure Act, NOTICE is hereby given of the following proposed rule:
Proposed Action:
Amendment of section 1.31 of Title 6 NYCRR.
Statutory authority:
Environmental Conservation Law, sections 11-0303, 11-0903 and 11-0907
Subject:
Hunting seasons for black bear.
Purpose:
To expand the areas open for bear hunting and establish a uniform bear hunting season in New York's Southern Zone.
Text of proposed rule:
Existing subdivisions 6 NYCRR 1.31(b) is repealed and a new subdivision 6 NYCRR 1.31(b) is adopted as follows:
(b) “Bear hunting seasons.” Bears may be taken only during the open seasons and areas listed below:
(1) Regular bear seasons:
Bear range
Open season
Northern
WMUs 5A, 5C, 5F, 5G, 5H, 5J, 6C, 6F, 6H, 6J, and that part of WMU 6K east of Route 26: Next to last Saturday in October through the first Sunday in December.
Southern
WMUs 3A, 3C, 3F, 3G, 3H, 3J, 3K, 3M, 3N, 3P, 3R, 3S, 4C, 4F, 4G, 4H, 4K, 4L, 4O, 4P, 4R, 4S, 4T, 4U, 4W, 4Y, 4Z, 5S, 5T, 7M, 7P, 7R, 7S, 8H, 8J, 8M, 8N, 8P, 8R, 8S, 8T, 8W, 8X, 8Y, 9G, 9H, 9J, 9K, 9M, 9N, 9P, 9R, 9S, 9T, 9W, 9X and 9Y: The twenty-three day period beginning on the third Saturday in November.
Rest of State
Closed
(2) Early bear season:
Bear range
Open season
Northern
WMUs 5A, 5C, 5F, 5G, 5H, 5J, 6C, 6F, 6H, 6J, and that part of WMU 6K east of Route 26: First Saturday after the second Monday in September through the Friday immediately preceding the Northern muzzleloading bear season.
Rest of State
Closed
(3) Bowhunting bear seasons:
Bear range
Open season
Northern
WMUs 5A, 5C, 5F, 5G, 5H, 5J, 6C, 6F, 6H, 6J, and that part of WMU 6K east of Route 26: September 27th through the Friday immediately preceding the Northern regular bear season.
Southern
WMUs 3A, 3C, 3F, 3G, 3H, 3J, 3K, 3M, 3N, 3P, 3R, 3S, 4C, 4F, 4G, 4H, 4K, 4L, 4O, 4P, 4R, 4S, 4T, 4U, 4W, 4Y, 4Z, 5S, 5T, 7M, 7P, 7R, 7S, 8H, 8J, 8M, 8N, 8P, 8R, 8S, 8T, 8W, 8X, 8Y, 9G, 9H, 9J, 9K, 9M, 9N, 9P, 9R, 9S, 9T, 9W, 9X and 9Y: The Saturday following the second Monday in October (Columbus Day) through the Friday immediately preceding the Southern regular bear season and the nine-day period immediately following the Southern regular bear season.
Rest of State
Closed
(i) Any person participating in the bowhunting bear hunting season may not have in his or her possession, or be accompanied by a person who has in his or her possession, any hunting implement other than a legal longbow.
(4) Muzzleloading bear seasons:
Bear range
Open season
Northern
WMUs 5A, 5C, 5F, 5G, 5H, 5J, 6C, 6F, 6H, 6J, and that part of WMU 6K east of Route 26: The seven day period immediately preceding the Northern Zone regular bear season.
Southern
WMUs 3A, 3C, 3F, 3G, 3H, 3J, 3K, 3M, 3N, 3P, 3R, 3S, 4C, 4F, 4G, 4H, 4K, 4L, 4O, 4P, 4R, 4S, 4T, 4U, 4W, 4Y, 4Z, 5S, 5T, 7M, 7P, 7R, 7S, 8H, 8J, 8M, 8N, 8P, 8R, 8S, 8T, 8W, 8X, 8Y, 9G, 9H, 9J, 9K, 9M, 9N, 9P, 9R, 9S, 9T, 9W, 9X and 9Y: The nine day period immediately following the Southern regular bear season.
Rest of State
Closed
(i) Any person participating in the muzzleloading bear hunting season may not have in his or her possession, or be accompanied by a person who has in his or her possession, a firearm other than a muzzleloading firearm which is lawful for taking big game.
Text of proposed rule and any required statements and analyses may be obtained from:
Bryan Swift, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233-4754, (518) 402-8883, email: wildliferegs@gw.dec.state.ny.us
Data, views or arguments may be submitted to:
Same as above.
Public comment will be received until:
45 days after publication of this notice.
Additional matter required by statute:
A programmatic environmental impact statement is on file with the Department of Environmental Conservation.
Regulatory Impact Statement
1. Statutory authority:
Section 11-0303 of the Environmental Conservation Law directs the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC or department) to develop and carry out programs that will maintain desirable species in ecological balance, and to observe sound management practices. This directive is to be met with regard to ecological factors, the compatibility of production and harvest of wildlife with other land uses, the importance of wildlife for recreational purposes, public safety, and protection of private premises. Section 11-0903(8) provides the authority to set open seasons, open areas, bag limit, manner of taking, possession and disposition of bear and parts of bears, and the intentional and incidental feeding of bears. Section 11-0907 governs open seasons and bag limits for deer and bear.
2. Legislative objectives:
The legislative objective behind the statutory provisions listed above is to establish, or authorize the department to establish by regulation, certain basic wildlife management tools, including the setting of open areas, and restrictions on methods of take and possession. These tools are used by the department to maintain desirable wildlife species in ecological balance, while observing sound management practices.
3. Needs and benefits:
The department proposes adjustments to black bear hunting areas and seasons in the Southern Zone to provide some relief from growing bear - human conflicts in these areas, while establishing a uniform bear hunting season across the Southern tier of New York State.
The specific changes proposed are as follows:
1) Open 14 WMUs east of the Hudson River to bear hunting for the bowhunting, regular and muzzleloading seasons; and
2) Establish an earlier opening date for regular (shotgun or rifle) bear hunting seasons in 28 WMUs in Western and Central New York.
Black bears have been thriving in New York in recent years and have expanded their range considerably. This has led to a growing number of interactions between bears and people. In areas with high agricultural activity or human densities, these interactions have been numerous, including some serious conflicts. In response to apparent and expected trends in bear populations east of the Hudson River, and in Western and Central New York, we are proposing changes to bear hunting regulations in those areas.
Bear hunting remains the only viable and cost effective tool for controlling bear numbers on a landscape scale. This rule making is intended as a proactive measure to help maintain a stable bear population while reducing the growth of negative impacts. This management action is designed to help maintain a favorable balance between the positive and negative impacts that have been identified in these areas.
East of the Hudson:
The area east of the Hudson, that would be opened to bear hunting by this regulation amendment (WMUs 3F, 3G, 3N, 3R, 3S, 4C, 4K, 4L, 4T, 4U, 4Y, 4Z, 5S and 5T), routinely experiences >100 complaints and observations of black bears annually. Reports of family groups and observations (including captures) of breeding age females are clear evidence of an established bear population that is likely to expand in size and distribution, especially in the absence of hunter harvest.
Consistent with the department's Planning Framework for Black Bear Management, staff conducted Stakeholder Input Groups in eastern New York in 2006 and 2009. In each case, stakeholders recognized the value of having bears in their area and have encouraged education efforts to boost understanding and tolerance of bears. Stakeholders also identified concern for bear-related property damage and interest in reducing bear-human conflicts. The department has promoted education efforts through seminars, web and print information, and development and distribution of the DVD, "Living with Black Bears in New York." The department now proposes that population management through regulated hunting is a necessary and appropriate mechanism to continue to address stakeholder concerns.
Opening bear hunting in eastern New York will help alleviate agricultural and homeowner conflicts with bears, provide recreational opportunity, and facilitate acceptable use of bear meat and hides.
The proposed bear hunting season east of the Hudson would be consistent with adjoining areas in the Southern Zone. The hunting season dates for bear are the same as for deer in those areas, so the proposed area would increase harvest opportunity without complicating our big game hunting regulations.
Western and Central New York:
The department last amended its bear hunting regulations in 2008 to open many additional WMUs in Western and Central New York to bear hunting. Most of those WMUs were located north of or between areas that were previously open to bear hunting and which were experiencing a growing number of bear sightings and conflicts. A primary purpose for opening those WMUs was to slow the expansion of bear populations in DEC Regions 7, 8 and 9, and help prevent bear dispersal into urban areas such as Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse.
When the additional WMUs were opened in 2008, bear hunting seasons in Western and Central New York (7M, 7P, 7R, 7S, 8H, 8J, 8M, 8N, 8P, 8R, 8S, 8T, 8W, 8X, 8Y, 9G, 9H, 9J, 9K, 9M, 9N, 9P, 9R, 9S, 9T, 9W, 9X and 9Y) were similar to deer hunting seasons, except that bear hunting was not allowed during the first week of the regular (shotgun and rifle) deer hunting season. This reduced hunter opportunity to harvest bears and added some complexity to our big game hunting regulations.
After three years experience with additional areas open to hunting, and continued concern about bear-human interactions throughout Western and Central New York, we propose that the regular black bear season be timed concurrent with the existing Southern Zone regular deer season and consistent with the regular black bear season in southeastern New York. This will remove a 7-day lag between the start of the regular deer and the regular bear season in this portion of New York and will thereby increase opportunity for big game hunters to encounter and harvest bears. Consistent season timing for black bears across the Southern Zone will also simplify regulations, easing compliance and enforcement.
4. Costs:
Implementation of this regulation has no additional costs, other than normal administrative expenses of the department associated with game management.
5. Local government mandates:
There are no local governmental mandates associated with this proposal.
6. Paperwork:
This amendment does not require any additional paperwork by any regulated entity.
7. Duplication:
None.
8. Alternatives:
1) No change. No change in the areas open to hunting or season dates would allow continued growth of bear populations and expansion of bear range in closed areas. This would result in a higher likelihood of negative human-bear interactions with increased risks to human health and safety and increased costs for department interventions. Therefore, the department does not consider a "no action" alternative to be viable.
2) Reduce the size of the area to be opened. Opening a smaller area would likely lead to a more rapid increase in bear populations and negative human-bear interactions in WMUs that were not opened. This would result in the department needing to open hunting in those areas at some later date under more critical circumstances, and would be counter to the department's efforts to limit negative bear-human conflicts in these areas in the interim.
3) Limit bear hunting east of the Hudson to bow hunting season only. This would be a more cautious approach to address any concerns that opening a season might eliminate bears from this region. Opening bear hunting only during bowhunting season would likely reduce the potential bear harvest by >50 percent. Given the patterns of bear population growth experienced in other portions of New York, such limited harvest may be insufficient to stem bear population growth in eastern New York. As the bear population continues to grow, future rule making would be necessary to increase bear harvest. Furthermore, existing law prohibits the taking of cubs, any bear in a group of bears, or any bear in a den, and these measures help ensure that hunting will not eliminate viable bear populations from any area.
9. Federal standards:
There are no federal government standards associated with the management of black bears.
10. Compliance schedule:
Hunters will be required to comply with the new regulations beginning with the start of the archery deer and bear hunting seasons in the Southern Zone during the 2011-2012 license year, which begins October 1, 2011.
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
The proposed regulation would amend the Department of Environmental Conservation's (department) black bear hunting regulations to allow hunting of black bears east of the Hudson River, and to open the regular bear hunting season a week earlier in Central and Western New York. The department has historically made regular revisions to its hunting regulations in New York. Based on the department's experience in promulgating those revisions and the familiarity of the department's regional personnel with the Southern Zone, the department has determined that this rule making will not have an adverse economic effect on small businesses or local governments.
Few, if any, small businesses directly participate in hunting activities. Such a business (e.g., professional hunting guides) will not suffer any substantial adverse impact as a result of this proposed rule making because it increases the number of wildlife management units open to bear hunting and could increase the number of participants or the frequency of participation in the bear hunting season.
All reporting, recordkeeping, and compliance requirements associated with black bear hunting is administered by the department. Therefore, the department has determined that this rule making will not impose any reporting, record-keeping, or other compliance requirements on small businesses or local governments.
Therefore, the department has determined that a Regulatory Flexibility Analysis for Small Businesses and Local Governments is not needed.
Rural Area Flexibility Analysis
1. Types and estimated numbers of rural areas:
Black bears live in most areas of New York, but their populations are particularly numerous in the Adirondacks, southeastern New York, eastern New York, and portions of Central and Western New York, especially along the Pennsylvania border. Consequently, the proposed regulation impacts rural areas throughout New York State.
2. Reporting, recordkeeping and other compliance requirements; and professional services:
All reporting, recordkeeping and other compliance requirements; and professional services associated with black bears is the responsibility of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (department).
3. Costs:
All costs associated with the implementation and enforcement of the proposed regulation are the responsibility of the department.
4. Minimizing adverse impact:
The proposed rule making will increase the number of wildlife management units open to bear hunting and could increase the number of participants or the frequency of participation in the bear hunting season. The proposed rule making is expected to reduce negative bear human interactions and to reduce the levels of bear nuisance activity, thereby reducing property damage in the Southern Zone. The proposed changes will continue management actions recommended by the public and enhance bear hunter satisfaction, thereby having a positive effect on rural areas.
5. Rural area participation:
A key component of the New York State Black Bear Management Program is the creation and use of Stakeholder Input Groups (SIGs) that are tasked to identify and prioritize bear impacts and to help department staff articulate black bear management objectives that would enhance positive impacts and lessen negative impacts. Since 2003, six SIGs have been convened throughout the Southern Zone. In each case, stakeholders recognized the value of having bears in their area and have encouraged education efforts to boost understanding and tolerance of bears. Stakeholders also identified concern for bear-related property damage and interest in reducing bear-human conflicts. The department has promoted education efforts through seminars, web and print information, and development and distribution of the DVD, "Living with Black Bears in New York." The department now proposes that population management through regulated hunting is a necessary and appropriate mechanism to continue to address stakeholder concerns.
Job Impact Statement
The proposed regulation would amend the Department of Environmental Conservation's (department) black bear hunting regulations to allow hunting of black bears east of the Hudson River and to open the regular bear hunting season a week earlier in Central and Western New York. Few, if any, persons actually hunt as a means of employment. Such a person, for whom hunting is an income source (e.g., professional guides), will not suffer any substantial adverse impact as a result of this proposed rule making because it increases the number of wildlife management units open to bear hunting and could increase the number of participants or the frequency of participation in the bear hunting season. For this reason, the department anticipates that this rule making will have no impact on jobs and employment opportunities.
Therefore, the department has concluded that a job impact statement is not required.
