The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced Monday that hunters should apply for deer management permits (DMPs) this week, ahead of the October 1 deadline.
Hunters are eligible to apply for up to two deer management permits once they have secured a hunting license.
This allows them to harvest antlerless deer to keep deep populations in line with established objectives, DEC Commissioner Joe Martens said.
DEC’s computerized licensing system allows hunters to immediately learn the outcome of their permit application.
The likelihood that a hunter will be selected for a permit is largely based on the number of deer management permits to be issued in a Wildlife Management Area and the number of hunters that historically apply for those permits.
To date, applications for deer management permits have been slightly lower than in previous years.
“Recreational deer hunting is our most effective deer population management tool,” Martens said.
DEC’s wildlife biologists analyze harvest information in conjunction with deer population objectives.
These objectives were developed with input from citizen task forces, to establish deer management permit quotas for each Wildlife Management Unit (WMU).
WMUs are the geographical units DEC uses to set hunting and trapping seasons in New York State.
Sporting licenses and permits can be purchased at one of DEC’s 1,100 license sales outlets statewide.
Licenses can also be ordered by telephone at 866-933-2257, or on DEC’s website.
The 2014-2015 hunting and trapping licenses are valid for one year beginning September 1, 2014.
Under a new state law that took effect in February, fishing licenses and recreational marine fishing registrations are now valid for 365 days from date-of-purchase.
Funds from the sale of all sporting licenses are deposited into the Conservation Fund, which is used to manage New York’s fish and wildlife populations and protect and manage fish and wildlife habitat.
