PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE State Administrative Procedure Act, NOTICE is hereby given of the following action:
Action taken:
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 final 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Existing subdivisions 6 NYCRR 1.31(b) is repealed and a new subdivision 6 NYCRR 1.31(b) is adopted as follows: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, 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. WMU 3S: The Saturday following the second Monday in October (Columbus Day) and continuing through December 31st.
Rest of State
Closed
(i) Legal implements for regular bear season are the same as for regular deer season. Black bear may only be taken by longbow in Westchester County (WMU 3S).
(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, 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, 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.
Final rule as compared with last published rule:
Nonsubstantive changes were made in section 1.31(b)(1).
Text of 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, (518) 402-8885, 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
A technical correction was made to the text of the rule to fully align the proposed bear hunting season with the regular deer hunting season in Westchester County (Wildlife Management Unit 3S), as was our intent, and to clarify the legal implements for hunting bear during the regular bear seasons. The original Regulatory 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.
Revised Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
A technical correction was made to the text of the rule to fully align the proposed bear hunting season with the regular deer hunting season in Westchester County (Wildlife Management Unit 3S), as was our intent, and to clarify the legal implements for hunting bear during the regular bear seasons. The original Regulatory Flexibility Analysis for Small Businesses and Local Governments 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.
Revised Rural Area Flexibility Analysis
A technical correction was made to the text of the rule to fully align the proposed bear hunting season with the regular deer hunting season in Westchester County (Wildlife Management Unit 3S), as was our intent, and to clarify the legal implements for hunting bear during the regular bear seasons. The original Rural Area Flexibility Analysis 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.
Revised Job Impact Statement
A technical correction was made to the text of the rule to fully align the proposed bear hunting season with the regular deer hunting season in Westchester County (Wildlife Management Unit 3S), as was our intent, and to clarify the legal implements for hunting bear during the regular bear seasons. The original 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 a total of 47 public comments, the majority of which expressed support for the proposed rulemaking. Several comments simply stated support without explanation. Two comments were ambiguous or unrelated to the proposal. A summary of the substantive comments and the department's response follows:
Comment:
The proposed regulation is a good step to managing black bears in areas where bear populations have been growing, will provide additional opportunity for hunters, and will help decrease the human-bear conflicts in those areas.
Response:
The department agrees.
Comment:
Providing uniform bear hunting season dates across the Southern Zone will reduce confusion among hunters about legal hunting dates and will simplify enforcement.
Response:
The department agrees.
Comment:
An earlier start date for regular bear season in the central-western portion of New York may increase bear harvest opportunities for hunters and may help decrease human-bear conflicts.
Response:
The department agrees.
Comment:
Current bear populations do not warrant the proposed expansion of the area open to bear hunting. These changes may result in decimation of the bear population.
Response:
The department considers the proposed rulemaking to be a reasonable approach to address a growing bear population in eastern New York. In the absence of population control through hunting, bear populations will continue to increase, resulting in greater levels of human-bear conflicts, property and agricultural damage. The department will continue to monitor black bear populations to achieve harvest rates that are consistent with sustainable bear populations. Furthermore, existing laws and regulations prohibit the taking of cubs, any bear in a group of bears, or any bear in a den in the Southern Zone. These additional measures help ensure that hunting is compatible with maintaining viable bear populations in the area.
Comment:
Occasional black bear sightings do not constitute a bear problem. We haven't seen problems between bears and humans in the area proposed for the bear hunting expansion. The proposed expansion of bear hunting is not justified at this time and the department should continue its education efforts to promote understanding and tolerance of bears as an alternative to hunting.
Response:
The department has routinely documented >100 complaints and observations of black bears annually in the proposal area. Complaints range from relatively minor damage involving bird feeders and garbage to property damage from bears entering greenhouses, chicken houses, and vehicles and unacceptable threats from bears entering or attempting to enter enclosed porches or homes. Bears have injured livestock and pets, and bears repeatedly cause problems for corn growers in Washington County and bee keepers throughout the region. Additionally, several bears annually are found in highly urban areas in the lower Hudson Valley, potentially creating a public hazard and frequently requiring the department to immobilize and relocate those bears to more rural areas. Situations involving bear damage to livestock, pets, or entry into homes necessitate that offending bear be killed, and bears causing repeated agriculture or apiary damage may also be killed.
It is impossible to predict exactly where the next bear conflicts may occur, and it is not prudent to wait for certain levels of damage or injury to occur before opening specific locales for bear hunting. Therefore, the proposed rulemaking is intended to slow bear population growth in the region and thereby reduce the potential for human-bear conflicts. Regulated hunting of bears will permit acceptable use of bear meat and hides by hunters and will likely reduce need for bears to be destroyed for damage related offenses.
The department will continue educational efforts to promote public understanding and tolerance of bears, but these measures will be insufficient to curb bear population growth in eastern New York. The department considers the proposed rulemaking to be a reasonable approach to address a growing bear population in eastern New York and reduce negative human-bear conflicts.
Comment:
Current bear populations do not warrant the proposed modification of season dates in central-western New York. The department should close the season for several years to allow the population to expand.
Response:
The department does not believe that additional bear population growth in central and western New York is prudent. The proposed rule is a continuation of efforts to curb bear population growth and range expansion in central and western New York and prevent bear dispersal northward into areas of higher potential human-bear conflicts.
Comment:
Opening regular bear season at the same time as deer season will result in more sows and more cubs shot.
Response:
Existing laws and regulations prohibit the taking of cubs, any bear in a group of bears, or any bear in a den in the Southern Zone. These prohibitions will be unchanged by this rulemaking and will continue to protect cubs and sows with cubs from being killed by hunters.
Comment:
The department should not open portions of eastern New York with the same long season as occurs in other areas but should consider a lottery for a limited number of bears or a shorter season.
Response:
The department considered allowing bear hunting only during bowhunting season in the proposed expansion area. This would likely reduce the potential bear harvest by >50%. Given the patterns of bear population growth experienced in other portions of New York, such limited harvest is expected to be insufficient to stem bear population growth in eastern New York.
The department believes a lottery system for limited bear tags is currently unnecessary for bear population management and would needlessly complicate hunting license sales and law enforcement.
Comment:
There are many wildlife management approaches and techniques available to manage undesirable wildlife population growth other than hunting and the department is encouraged to utilize one of these techniques in the proposed area.
Response:
The department acknowledges the following alternative methods could theoretically be used for reducing bear population growth: (1) trap and transfer, (2) trap and kill, and (3) fertility control. The first two options are logistically, financially, and/or socially unacceptable. Trapping bears is difficult and expensive and can be dangerous for both the bears and the handlers. Additionally, relocating a large portion of the bear population from one region to another within New York is counter to management goals of reducing or stabilizing populations throughout the state. At the present time, fertility control is not a viable option to manage free ranging black bear populations. No chemical fertility control has been approved by federal regulatory agencies for experimental use on any wild population of bears. Furthermore, given the inherent expense in capturing bears, low population densities, and expansive movements of bears, fertility control is unlikely to be a feasible means to manage bear populations.
The department currently employs a number of methods to address human-bear conflicts, but these measures do not affect bear population growth.
Comment:
Bear hunting in Westchester County should be allowed with all legal implements.
Response:
Environmental Conservation Law (ECL) 11-0931 prohibits use of a rifle for hunting in Westchester County. Additionally ECL 11-0907 specifies that the legal implements for bear hunting are the same as those for deer hunting, which for Westchester County is limited to archery equipment only.
Comment:
We are worried about the negative impacts associated with these new rules. We already have problems with unregulated hunters who behave badly.
Response:
Hunting activity is closely regulated, and the department believes the vast majority of hunters are law abiding. This rule is not expected to increase illegal activity.
In addition to comments submitted by the public, the department recognized that the proposed rule needed a technical correction to fully align bear hunting season dates with the regular deer hunting season in Westchester County, Wildlife Management Unit 3S, as was our intent when we proposed this rulemaking.
