New deer and bear hunting regulations in New York will increase opportunities for junior hunters to take bears, and rescinds a 2015 antlerless only rule in southeastern part of the state and Lake Plains.
Changes also reduce antlerless harvests in two management units in the western Adirondacks, and clarify when special season tags may be used by bow and muzzleloader hunters.
The new bear hunting regulation now includes the taking of bears in the youth firearms hunt over Columbus Day weekend which was previously a deer-only event.
The 2015 regulation prohibiting harvest of antlered deer during portions of the bow and muzzleloader seasons in Wildlife Management Units 1C, 3M, 3S, 4J, 8A, 8C, 8F, 8G, 8H, 8N, 9A, and 9F has been rescinded. Rules now allow the take of both antlered and antlerless deer during the entire bow and muzzleloader seasons in these units.
In these WMUs, deer populations are above desired levels, and the antlerless-only rule was implemented in 2015 as part of a multi-phase process to increase antlerless harvest. However, reported harvest of female deer did not differ substantially between the WMUs with the antlerless-only periods and nearby WMUs without the rule, nor did the antlerless-only periods increase reported female take as desired.
In contrast, deer populations in WMUs 6F and 6J have been declining; harvest of antlerless deer is now prohibited during the early muzzleloader season in these units.
Winter weather conditions are a primary driver of deer abundance in the northern part of the state, and the winters of 2013 and 2014 were especially harsh. Coupled with mild conditions this past winter, reducing the harvest of antlerless deer should prevent further population decline and stimulate growth. The DEC expects this change to be temporary.
The final regulatory change is simply a technical correction to clarify that hunters who purchase both the bow and muzzleloader license privileges may use the Bow/Muzzleloader either-sex and Bow/Muzzleloader antlerless-only deer tags in either season or both in one of the seasons with the appropriate implement. Hunters who purchase just one of the special season privileges are still only allowed to use the Bow/Muzzleloader tag during that particular special season.
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