Home » 2015 Issues » August 05, 2015 » ENV-19-15-00009-A Deer Hunting Seasons and the Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP)
ENV-19-15-00009-A Deer Hunting Seasons and the Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP)
8/5/15 N.Y. St. Reg. ENV-19-15-00009-A
NEW YORK STATE REGISTER
VOLUME XXXVII, ISSUE 31
August 05, 2015
RULE MAKING ACTIVITIES
DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION
NOTICE OF ADOPTION
I.D No. ENV-19-15-00009-A
Filing No. 631
Filing Date. Jul. 21, 2015
Effective Date. Aug. 05, 2015
Deer Hunting Seasons and the Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP)
PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE State Administrative Procedure Act, NOTICE is hereby given of the following action:
Action taken:
Amendment of sections 1.11 and 1.30 of Title 6 NYCRR.
Statutory authority:
Environmental Conservation Law, sections 11-0303, 11-0903 and 11-0907
Subject:
Deer Hunting Seasons and the Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP).
Purpose:
To modify deer hunting rules to increase and decrease antlerless harvest where needed and to improve efficiency of DMAP.
Text or summary was published
in the May 13, 2015 issue of the Register, I.D. No. ENV-19-15-00009-P.
Final rule as compared with last published rule:
No changes.
Text of rule and any required statements and analyses may be obtained from:
Bryan Swift, Department of Environmental Conservation, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233-4754, (518) 402-8922, email: bryan.swift@dec.ny.gov
Additional matter required by statute:
A programmatic environmental impact statement is on file with the Department of Environmental Conservation.
Assessment of Public Comment
The Department received approximately 200 comments and about 215 copies of a form letter on the proposed amendments. We reviewed the substance of each comment and organized them in relation to each of our three specific regulatory proposals. Comments related to other aspects of deer management not associated with this rule making are not addressed here.
1. Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP).
Comment:
Several comments stated support for the proposed changes to DMAP, noting the benefit of reduced paperwork, extended duration of the permit and later reporting date. One comment suggested the minimum acreage for the forest regeneration DMAP category be reduced from 100 acres to 25 acres.
Response:
The Department appreciates this support. Forest landowners of smaller acreages may still participate in DMAP by cooperating with adjoining landowners or participating in the Real Property Tax Law Section 480a program.
2. Antlered-only early muzzleloader season in Wildlife Management Unit (WMU) 6A.
Comment:
Several writers expressed support for the proposed action to restrict harvest to antlered deer only during the early muzzleloader season in WMU 6A. Additional suggestions to reduce antlerless harvest, included elimination of antlerless harvest across all seasons, elimination of the late muzzleloader season, or reduction of Deer Damage Permits and DMAP permits to landowners.
Response:
Currently, about half of the adult female deer harvest in WMU 6A occurs during the early muzzleloader season. By allowing only take of antlered deer during this season, the Department expects the overall adult female harvest to be reduced sufficiently to stimulate desired population growth without completely eliminating antlerless harvest or restricting landowners that experience deer-related damage.
Comment:
Several writers disagreed that the deer population is lower than desired or that the deer population should be allowed to increase. One commenter requested that DEC delay implementation of the change for WMU 6A until it can show that a larger deer population will not have adverse impacts on forest regeneration or species of greatest conservation need.
Response:
The target deer population for WMU 6A, established in 2009, was based on the impacts experienced by and recommendations of local stakeholders. Trends in harvest data suggest the deer population has been below the target level since then. USDA Forest Inventory Analysis data indicates that regeneration in the St. Lawrence / Champlain Valley ecoregion, which encompasses WMU 6A, is good or very good in over 70% of sample plots. Ecological and human impacts will be considered when new objectives are established, and the Department does not anticipate substantial changes in impacts due to the modest deer population increase intended with this rule.
3. Antlerless-only portion of the bow and muzzleloader seasons in several WMUs.
Comment:
One writer claimed that hunters or hunting groups had not been surveyed on this issue prior to the rule being proposed.
Response:
The option to make part of the bow and muzzleloader season valid for antlerless deer only in areas where additional antlerless harvest is necessary, originated from hunters during the scoping process for the Department’s Management Plan for White-tailed Deer in New York State, 2012-2016. Then, in the 2010 Deer Hunter Survey, 55% of hunters identified that, where needed, an antlerless-only portion of the bow and muzzleloader seasons was a good idea, while only 28% believed it was a bad idea. The survey found similar support for the concept among bowhunters and gun hunters.
Comment:
Several writers disagreed that deer populations are higher than desirable, suggesting that situations of deer abundance are localized in suburban areas or on private land and that the 2014-15 winter may have further reduced the deer population.
Response:
The Department compiles data from entire WMUs, including public and private lands, and these data reflect deer populations that have remained above desired levels for the past decade despite efforts to reduce populations through increased allocation of antlerless deer tags. While the 2014-15 winter was more severe than average and may contribute to population reduction in the WMUs associated with this rule, strong deer productivity and recent harvest trends support the need for additional antlerless harvest during hunting seasons.
Comment:
Several comments supported the proposal, agreeing that more antlerless deer need to be harvested and that refocusing hunter effort on antlerless deer will help limit population growth. Several writers suggested that the rule be extended into other parts of New York.
Response:
The Department appreciates the support. While there are other WMUs in New York with deer populations above desired levels, the Department contends that reduction in these units may still be achieved by increasing the availability of Deer Management Permits (DMPs, antlerless deer tags). If increased allocation of DMPs is unable to reduce the population as needed, the Department would expand the area with an antlerless-only portion of bow and muzzleloader season to include these WMUs.
Comment:
Many writers objected to the proposed prohibition on taking a buck during the first 15 days of the early bow season; a few also objected to the antlerless-only requirement during the late bow and muzzleloader season. Many comments suggested that without legal opportunity to take a buck, hunters will forego hunting during the antlerless-only portions of the season or hunt in other WMUs, so antlerless harvest will not increase. Others expressed concern that some hunters will not comply with the rule if the opportunity to take a “trophy” buck arises during the antlerless-only portion of the season. Some hunters also expressed that their preferred time to hunt for bucks was during the first two weeks of the early bow season or during the late seasons. Others felt that they are entitled to take a buck because the purchase of a bow or muzzleloading privilege includes an either-sex tag. Many hunters suggested the Department consider an earn-a-buck system as an alternative.
Response:
The Department recognizes that many hunters value the opportunity to take antlered bucks during any season and that is a motivating factor for hunting. However, there is a critical need to increase harvest of antlerless deer in these WMUs. The proposed rule does not eliminate buck harvest opportunities but simply changes when it can occur to emphasize the necessity of antlerless harvest. We hope that hunters in these WMUs will help meet this management need. Reported harvests during the early bowhunting season in these WMUs are disproportionately skewed toward antlered bucks compared to other hunting seasons. Greater cooperation by bowhunters in removing antlerless deer in similar ratios as during other seasons will help achieve management objectives and meet the needs of the broader public who are affected by negative deer-related impacts. Opportunities to take an antlered buck will remain during the latter two-thirds of the early bow season and all of the regular firearm season.
The Department did consider an earn-a-buck system which would require that hunters take one or more antlerless deer before they are eligible to harvest a buck or before they are eligible to take a second buck. This approach has been effective in other jurisdictions. However, earn-a-buck strategies are generally unpopular with hunters and entail high logistical costs to implement and enforce. An earn-a-buck system may be necessary at some point in the future, but we believe the Phase-2 and Phase-3 strategies are reasonable preliminary options.
Any concern about hunters having to pass up a shot at a buck during the antlerless-only portion of the season would apply to earn-a-buck systems as well, at least until the hunter is successful in harvesting an antlerless deer, which could be more than 15 days into the season.
Comment:
Many writers expressed belief that 15 days of antlerless-only hunting during the early bowhunting season will be ineffective because harvest by bowhunters typically constitutes a relatively small portion of the overall deer harvest, suggesting that greater impact could be achieved by moving the antlerless-only period into a portion of the firearms season. Additional suggestions to potentially increase antlerless harvest included: establishing an early or late muzzleloader season for antlerless deer, allowing only 1 buck per hunter per year, longer bow or muzzleloading seasons, eliminate the $10 application fee for DMPs, allow hunters to use bait, establish an open season (all year) for antlerless deer, and making the DMPs valid for female deer only rather than antlerless deer which includes male fawns.
Response:
Establishing an antlerless-only period during bow and muzzleloader seasons was identified in the Department’s Management Plan for White-tailed Deer in New York State, 2012-2016, as phase-2 of a 3-phase process to progressively increase harvest pressure on antlerless deer where needed. The Department agrees that greater harvest of antlerless deer might be achieved through an antlerless-only portion of the regular firearms season rather than or in addition to portions of the bow and muzzleloader season. Likewise, the Department anticipates that greater harvest of antlerless deer would occur with a new antlerless-only muzzleloader season, identified as the phase-3 action. However, the 3-phase approach was developed using hunter feedback, evaluated in the 2010 deer hunter survey, and incorporated into the Department’s deer management plan after a public review process. The Department does not consider this an appropriate time to deviate from the adopted plan.
The Department appreciates the other suggestions. However, some would require changes in law by the New York State Legislature (e.g., changing DMP application fees or allow use of bait), and others (e.g., one buck per hunter) are being evaluated in relation to buck management strategies. The Department welcomes additional public input on this topic whenever the plan is updated or revised.
Comment:
DEC should use incentives, such as new or longer seasons, to increase antlerless harvest rather than disincentives.
Response:
In 2012, the Department extended the Southern Zone bow season an average of 15 days by beginning the season on October 1 of each year. This gave bowhunters additional time to hunt, and some bowhunters have used this time to take antlerless deer. A principal incentive would be for hunters to help achieve the desired deer population level in the identified WMUs. Additionally, phase-3, if needed, would provide new opportunity.
Comment:
Several writers disagreed with the Department’s statement that increasing the number of DMPs available is no longer a productive way to increase antlerless harvest. They suggested that unlimited DMP tags should be available in the WMUs with overabundant deer.
Response:
In these units, hunters may acquire up to four DMPs through the initial draw and first-come-first-serve issuance periods, have an two DMPs transferred to them, and receive an either-sex and antlerless-only tag with their purchase of bow and muzzleloader hunting privileges. Additionally, during the late seasons, the regular big game tag is valid for deer of either-sex. Hunters have opportunity for up to nine tags that are valid for antlerless deer. However, harvest report data from 2014-15 reveal that only 1.2% of successful hunters reported taking 4 or more deer, and no hunter reported taking a total of more than 7 deer. Hunters do not appear to be limited by tag availability.
Comment:
Several people suggested that limited access to private property for hunting is the primary problem affecting deer population management in these areas.
Response:
Restricted hunting access can limit the ability of hunters to reduce local deer populations, particularly when large blocks of land are not hunted. However, several surveys of landowners in New York have found that upwards of 80% of private lands are hunted. The problem is that many of these lands are hunted insufficiently with inadequate removal of antlerless deer. The current rule intends to refocus hunter effort toward antlerless deer during a portion of the hunting season.
Comment:
There was no mention if the early bowhunting season will revert to either-sex when the desired deer population is reached.
Response:
The Department will adapt hunting rules as needed and may revert to previous rules if appropriate.
Conclusion
After considering all comments received on the proposed changes to deer hunting seasons and DMAP, the Department has concluded that the proposal as published remains an appropriate step to adjust antlerless harvest and improve DMAP. The regulation is being adopted as originally proposed.
