New York was one of the few states that required a back tag, but only in the Southern Zone (Northen Zone and Catskill Park did not require back tags). It's unclear to me why there were differences between Northern and Southern Zone and it never made any sense to me. I'm glad to see New York "catching up" with other states, but, like most others, it never really bothered me to wear a back tag. I did find it annoying when it scraped against the tree when shifting around in my treestand but, otherwise, it was never a big deal.