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I thought I'd share a little story and pics from a late Feb. 2018 Hare hunting trip to northern NY. I live in S. central PA ; and it's a 5 +hr. drive. I arrived on a sat. at 11am and not familiar with the area ; but a friend gave me a few spots to hunt. I hunted with 2 beagles age 11 & 13 yrs... They still hunt like fools ! We hunted a spot for 3 hrs. with a couple slow runs . Plenty of Hare tracks but no sight of any Hare. I decided to try across the road from where I parked . I walked the edge of a swamp and with 3-4 feet of snow my snowshoes were fine until....I stepped down into a frozen waterhole and broke through. I extracted myself from the knee deep water and headed to my truck . Numb feet by the time I walked the 650 yds. and it's 3pm. No extra boots so.. Day over . . Day 2 arrived with 4 in. fresh snow ; and my friend with his 3 younger beagles. We tried a spot I scouted before getting to the motel sat. night. We weren't in the woods 5 min. and my 13 yr old beagle opens on a fresh track. As the other dogs harked in it sounded like a screaming freight train of beagles ! In less than a minute they were outta hearing and at 400+ yds before the Hare turned and headed back our way. It evaded us 2 circles around; but the 3rd time my friend connects. The rest of the day was outstanding running ; with 9 Hare chases and 3 taken in Approx. 6 hrs. Here's a few pics. I will be back in the fall for sure.

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) proposes to manage the Tug Hill Wildlife Management Area for mature, closed-canopy forest (NOT good grouse, hare or other game habitat) unless they receive significant opposition to their plan. DEC is accepting public comment on the draft Tug Hill North Unit Management Plan through this Friday, Dec. 20. The draft plan (http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/regions_pdf/thndrump.pdf) outlines management direction for 8 State Forest parcels totalling about 37,000 ac, and the Tug Hill WMA (5,111 ac). Most of the Tug Hill WMA (approx. 5,000 acres) was purchased using Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Funds, which are a federal excise tax on firearms, ammunition, and archery equipment which were championed by hunters for the purposes of “…restore, enhance, and manage wildlife resources, and to conduct state hunter education programs.” However, NYSDEC proposes only uneven-age forest management for the Tug Hill WMA, which will make the Tug Hill WMA less suitable for grouse, woodcock, hares, deer, and bear, rather than improve it for these species. The draft plan does mention creation of early successional habitat for at least a portion of the state forest parcels (although it's unclear how much, where or when). Please tell DEC that the Tug Hill Wildlife Management Area should be actively managed using even-age forestry practices to make this WMA the premier destination for upland hunters seeking ruffed grouse, American woodcock, and snowshoe hare in the Tug Hill Plateau of upstate New York. The DEC is accepting written comments on the draft Tug Hill North Unit Management Plan through this Friday, December 20, 2013, by mail to: Andrea Mercurio at DEC 7327 State Hwy 812, Lowville, New York 13367 or e-mail [email protected] . In your comments you may like to use the following bullets: • Thank DEC for the opportunity to comment, and for the balanced multi-use proposal for the state forest parcels in the northern part of the Tug Hill North Unit. • A major portion of the Tug Hill WMA should be managed using even-age forestry practices to improve habitat for ruffed grouse, American woodcock, snowshoe hare, and other wildlife, and make Tug Hill WMA the premier publicly-owned property in the region for sportsmen and sportswomen seeking these species. Thank you! – Andrew Weik, Northeast Regional Biologist, Ruffed Grouse Society