Outdoor Chenango Columnist Eric Davis

There are less than 20 days remaining for public comments to be submitted to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation about their draft “Management Plan for White-tailed Deer in New York State, 2021-2030.” The 70-plus page plan was created by biologists and other scientists from across the state with the hopes of guiding management of deer in New York using the same six goals that were used in their first deer management plan. Those six goals were:

1. Manage deer populations at levels that are appropriate for human and ecological concerns.

2. Promote and enhance deer hunting as an important recreational activity, tradition, and population management tool in New York.

3. Reduce negative impacts caused by deer.

4. Foster public understanding and communication about deer ecology, deer management, economic aspects, and recreational opportunities.

5. Manage deer to promote healthy and sustainable forests and enhance habitat conservation efforts to benefit deer and other species.

6. Ensure that the necessary resources are available to support sound management of white-tailed deer in New York.

The proposed plan incorporates some new methodology to decide what deer population objectives should be by using forest impact data with public survey data about population levels. It also suggests changes to hunting seasons and regulations to provide additional harvest opportunities in rural areas. Additionally, it makes recommendations for ways to help create new opportunities for community-based deer management in urban and suburban areas of New York. The full draft plan is available on the NYSDEC website. Here are just some of the proposed changes included in the plan.

1. Prohibit the retail sale, possession, use, and distribution of cervid biofluid products in New York- This is meant for products that contain fluids collected from deer such as urine or glandular secretions. The main concern with these products is the potential for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) to be introduced into the wild deer population in New York. CWD is caused by a prion, which is an improperly folded protein in the brain of the deer which causes eventual death. Prions are shred from infected animals in body fluids, such as saliva and urine, where they bind in the soil and can be picked up by healthy deer. This proposed change would force retailers to sell synthetic attractants (like doe-in-heat urine) instead of products collected from live deer.

2. Extend legal hunting hours to 30 minutes before sunrise until 30 minutes after sunset- New York currently has the most restrictive hunting hours in the country of sunrise to sunset. Ambient light conditions can exist for 30 minutes or more before sunrise and after sunset. States with extended hours (compared to New York’s current hours) report similar rates of hunting related issues during those hours as during full daylight.

3. Change state law to allow all hunting at 12 years old- Currently a hunter cannot hunt deer with a firearm until they are 14 years old (which was changed from 16 years old in 2008). Allowing youth hunters to hunt with a firearm can lead to increased success and lead to lifetime involvement in deer hunting. They also propose to allow youth hunters to hunt from elevated locations (treestands), which currently is not allowed, as the downward trajectory of a bullet from an elevated location is safer than a bullet shot parallel to the ground.

4. Allow use of crossbows during all of archery season and remove restrictions on crossbows- When crossbows became legal to use in New York for deer hunting, a number of restrictions were put into place to limit what crossbows could be used. They also classified them as a firearm equal to a muzzleloader instead of calling them archery equipment. Some areas of New York limit the use of firearms for deer hunting so crossbows cannot be used here, while archery equipment can be. By allowing crossbows to be used in these areas of deer overpopulation, harvest opportunities would increase and hopefully lead to a decrease in the deer population.

5. Prohibit Wanton Waste- If a hunter harvests a deer in New York, they are not required to take any part of the deer. They can just leave it in the woods and let it rot without any repercussions. This can cause the non-hunting public to view hunting negatively, so they propose to make wanton waste illegal. Hunters would be required to retrieve their harvest and make sure it is utilized as much as it can be (this could include donating the meat to the Venison Donation Coalition).

6. Provide landowners with a tax credit to allow public hunting on their property- Access to private lands is declining every year. By giving landowners the option to sign up to let hunters use their property in exchange for a tax credit, it allows deer management objectives to be better met and lets the landowner save money on their tax bill.

Whether you agree with these changes or not, this is your opportunity to express your voice before the plan becomes official. Remember that there are more proposed changes than the ones I have listed, so go to the NYSDEC website to view the entire proposed plan. The directions to provide your comments are on the same page as the draft plan.