Hunting deer and bear and Wildlife Management Unit descriptions.
Purpose:
To implement strategies of the recently adopted Management Plan for White-tailed Deer in New York State.
Substance of final rule:
The purpose of this rule making is to amend the Department of Environmental Conservation's (the department) general regulations governing deer and bear hunting (6 NYCRR Part 1) and to correct a technical error in the delineation of Wildlife Management Units (6 NYCRR section 4.1). These changes are needed to implement multiple strategies of the recently adopted Management Plan for White-tailed Deer in New York State, 2012-2016. The Plan was adopted in October 2011 and can be viewed at: www.dec.ny.gov/docs/wildlife_pdf/deerplan2012.pdf. The deer season changes require some adjustment of bear hunting seasons because they are generally concurrent with deer seasons. Also, the legal boundary descriptions for Wildlife Management Units 5A and 5C in Franklin County need to be corrected with a minor technical edit. Following is a summary of the amendments that the department is proposing:
1. Establish a 3-day youth firearms season for deer to occur during Columbus Day weekend in the portions of the Northern and Southern Zone where deer may be taken with a firearm, to increase opportunities for junior hunters. Junior hunters will be authorized to take one deer of either-sex with a firearm during the youth season;
2. Lengthen bowhunting seasons in the Southern Zone by changing to a fixed opening date of October 1, to increase bowhunting opportunities;
3. Lengthen regular seasons (bowhunting only) in Westchester County by changing to a fixed opening date of October 1 to increase bowhunting opportunities;
4. Adjust the Northern Zone muzzleloader and regular season start dates by up to one week to allow for a longer early bow season in some years;
5. Allow bowhunting during the late muzzleloading season in the Northern Zone to increase bowhunting opportunities;
6. Allow Deer Management Permits (DMPs) to be used during Northern Zone bow and early muzzleloader seasons to simplify regulations and increase hunter opportunity and choice;
7. Establish mandatory antler restrictions in Wildlife Management Units (WMUs) 3A, 4G, 4O, 4P, 4R, 4S, and 4W to reduce harvest of yearling (1.5 year old) bucks;
8. Simplify the description of the area open for deer hunting during the January firearms season on Long Island (Suffolk County) to state that all of Suffolk County is open for the January firearms season, subject to local discharge restrictions;
9. Establish provisions for designation of Deer Management Focus Areas to intensify use of traditional hunting in specifically designated geographic areas to assist communities with the burden of overabundant deer populations; increase bag limits to 2 antlerless deer per hunter per day and establish a Deer Management Focus Area deer hunting season in portions of January; establish specific permit, tagging and reporting requirements in focus areas; and define a focus area in Tompkins County that includes portions of the towns of Caroline, Danby, Dryden, Enfield, Ithaca, Lansing, Newfield and Ulysses. This area has very high deer populations and relatively poor access for hunters. The focus area approach will enable greater harvest opportunity for hunters able to gain access to lands for hunting;
10. Adjust bear seasons to remain consistent with bow, muzzleloader and regular seasons for deer;
11. Correct a road name in the boundary descriptions for WMUs 5A and 5C, where Franklin County Route 24 was incorrectly identified as State Route 24; and
12. Reorganize and clarify various sections of Part 1 to make deer hunting regulations easier to understand and eliminate inconsistencies or redundancy; these instances do not result in any substantive regulation changes.
Final rule as compared with last published rule:
Nonsubstantive changes were made in sections 1.11(a)(1), 1.31(b)(1) and (4).
Text of rule and any required statements and analyses may be obtained from:
Bryan L. Swift, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233-4754, (518) 402-8883, email: wildliferegs@gw.dec.state.ny.us
Additional matter required by statute:
A programmatic environmental impact statement is on file with the Department of Environmental Conservation.
Revised Regulatory Impact Statement, Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, Rural Area Flexibility Analysis and Job Impact Statement
We made a minor adjustment to the season date formulas for Northern Zone seasons in response to concerns that our proposal would extend deer seasons too late into December. We also clarified that the late bowhunting season in the Northern Zone will be open only in the same areas as the late muzzleloading season, which was our intent all along. These are minor, non-substantive changes that accomplish our original objectives while responding to hunter concerns. The original Regulatory Impact Statement, Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, Rural Area Flexibility Analysis and Job Impact Statement as published in the Notice of Proposed Rule Making remains valid, and does not need to be amended to reflect the changes made to the text of the regulation.
Assessment of Public Comment
The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC or department) received comments from several thousand individuals and organizations on the proposed amendments to deer and bear hunting regulations during the 45-day public comment period (April 4 - May 21, 2012). Many of the comments simply offered support or opposition to specific proposals, whereas others offered more detailed arguments for or against one or more of our proposals. Overall, the comments were consistent with those we received during summer 2011 on the draft "Management Plan for White-tailed Deer in New York State, 2012-2016", and few significant alternatives were suggested. This was not surprising because the proposed regulations were based upon the final deer management plan that was adopted in October 2011.
More detailed explanations of the proposals and a full assessment of the public comment with DEC's response is available at www.dec.ny.gov/regulations/34113.html. A much shorter summary is provided below. We did not respond to comments that were not specifically related to the proposed amendments, including those related to possible changes to the Environmental Conservation Law (ECL), such as changing the minimum age for big game hunting, allowing the use of crossbows during bowhunting seasons, or reducing the setback distance for discharge of bowhunting equipment.
1. Establishment of a youth firearms deer season.
Many hunters enthusiastically supported the proposed youth deer hunt over Columbus Day weekend, indicating that this is a great way to promote hunting for future generations. Many other hunters disagreed with timing the hunt over Columbus Day weekend or at any time during bowhunting seasons. Primary objections to the proposed youth hunt related to some hunters' beliefs that: (1) a youth hunt is unnecessary; (2) young hunters with firearms present an increased safety risk for bowhunters or small game hunters afield in camouflage; (3) the youth hunt will affect bowhunting by altering deer behavior patterns; and (4) unscrupulous adults will illegally take deer during the youth season.
DEC is committed to providing junior hunters a special opportunity to hunt deer under the mentoring and supervision of an experienced adult without competition from adult firearms hunters. This is believed to be an important factor for recruiting new hunters, which is essential for the future of deer management. DEC believes that concerns about adverse consequences of having a youth hunt during bowhunting season, or on Columbus Day specifically, are unwarranted and inconsistent with the interests of the broader spectrum of New York hunters. We considered a variety of alternatives for timing of the season, and Columbus Day weekend was determined to be the best option for likely participants (junior hunters and their mentors).
2. Earlier opening of bowhunting seasons in the Southern Zone and the regular season (bowhunting-only) in Westchester County.
The department received enthusiastic support from bowhunters for the longer season. The department also received comments with substantial opposition to the bow season expansion largely on grounds that a longer bow season is unnecessary and is unfair to other hunters.
DEC believes that starting the Southern Zone bowhunting season on October 1 each year is a reasonable action to increase opportunity for New York deer hunters and considers bowhunting to be compatible with other hunting activities that will occur in early October. We do not expect any adverse management impacts to result from additional harvest of deer by bowhunters, so the alternative of not extending the bow season was rejected.
3. Adjustment of Northern Zone season dates.
Some hunters were concerned that the proposed season adjustments in the Northern Zone would extend hunting later into December, when it was more likely that winter weather conditions could restrict deer movements or hunter access, or make deer more vulnerable to harvest or disturbance in their winter yards.
DEC does not agree that the original proposal would have had significant adverse impacts on deer populations, hunter opportunity, or other recreationists in the Northern Zone. However, we are concerned about hunter perceptions and acceptance of later seasons in those years when snow conditions might make some localized deer herds more vulnerable, particularly in areas of the Adirondacks and Tug Hill. Consequently, we adopted a formula in the final regulation where the Northern Zone will open for 44 consecutive days beginning on the second Saturday after Columbus Day, followed by a 7-day late bow and muzzleloader season in some areas. This alternative, while non-substantive, will result in fewer years when seasons will extend later than they have in the past.
4. Allow bowhunting during the late muzzleloading season in the Northern Zone.
Comments were largely supportive of this rule, though several comments expressed concern for low deer populations in portions of the Northern Zone and suggested that there be no late muzzleloader season.
This rule did not propose any changes to the areas open for a late muzzleloading season, but simply creates a late bowhunting season during the same time and in the same areas as the late muzzleloading season. These seasons are open where DEC considers deer populations capable of sustaining the harvest associated with late bowhunting and muzzleloader seasons. No significant alternatives were suggested.
5. Use of Deer Management Permits (DMPs) during the early bowhunting and muzzleloader seasons in the Northern Zone.
DEC received several comments supporting and opposing this rule. Those opposed expressed concern for the impact of DMPs on deer populations in the Adirondacks.
The department believes this change will simplify regulations and increase hunter opportunity and choice. No management impact is expected since DEC determines the total number of DMPs issued in each WMU based on current deer population conditions and hunting activity. No significant alternatives were suggested.
6. Expansion of mandatory antler restrictions (ARs) into WMUs 3A, 4G, 4O, 4P, 4R, 4S, 4W.
We received a large volume of comments related to the proposed expansion of mandatory ARs, including several thousand form letters and copies of letters submitted on the draft deer management plan prior to this rulemaking. The substance of the input received was generally consistent with comments received by DEC on the draft deer management plan (www.dec.ny.gov/docs/wildlife_pdf/deerplanapc.pdf).
Clearly, mandatory ARs remain a very contentious issue among hunters and other stakeholders across New York State. Previous assessments of the biological and management implications of ARs are summarized in Appendix 3 of the "Management Plan for White-tailed Deer in New York State, 2012-2016" (www.dec.ny.gov/docs/wildlife_pdf/deerplan2012.pdf), and in the "Summary of New York's Pilot Antler Restriction Program" (www.dec.ny.gov/docs/wildlife_pdf/arsummary11.pdf). DEC does not consider mandatory ARs biologically necessary to maintain a healthy deer population in New York.
Because the comments received were generally consistent with views expressed on the draft deer management plan in 2011, we have proceeded with adoption of mandatory ARs to the seven Catskill WMUs as originally proposed. Although some people suggested expansion of ARs to other individual WMUs, the entire Southern Zone, or statewide, DEC has no plans to expand mandatory ARs outside of the area of this rule. Rather, DEC is working to develop a more systematic and objective process to guide future decisions regarding alternative buck harvest strategies that may offer more acceptable outcomes for New York deer hunters and stakeholders.
7. Expand the open area for the January firearms season in Suffolk County.
We did not receive any substantive comment related to this proposal.
8. Designation of a Deer Management Focus Area in portions of Tompkins County.
Several key stakeholders, including local residents, hunters and property managers in the focus area, expressed strong support for the proposal and reiterated the need for deer population reduction in this area. Two individuals objected to the proposal, concerned that it would result in overharvest of deer. One person suggested a boundary change to expand the focus area and several others recommended that other areas be considered for designation as focus areas.
Deer harvests during previous seasons have not been sufficient to alleviate the overabundance of deer in this localized area. The focus area is established to reduce total deer populations within the focus area boundary by providing more time and more tags to hunters who can gain access to huntable land. We reviewed the specific concerns related to boundaries of the Tompkins County focus area, and concluded that no changes from our original proposal were warranted. We plan to evaluate this new approach over the next several years and, depending on the results, will consider designation of other areas.
9. Adjustment of bear hunting seasons to remain consistent with deer hunting seasons.
DEC received several comments supportive of keeping deer and bear hunting seasons consistent. DEC agrees that retaining a consistent season structure for big game hunting is currently preferable.
10. Correction of a boundary description for WMUs 5A and 5C in Franklin County.
DEC did not receive any substantive comment related to this proposal.
