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growalot

By growalot,
in Deer Hunting

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nyslowhand Enthusiast

nyslowhand

Posted
Posted

From what I understand...

White-tail Mgmt plan included the Oct youth gun hunt & was signed/enacted by the DEC Commissioner.

But - There is legislation in front of Cumo over-riding it which was neatly packaged within the crossbow extension law.

Not sure if he has signed that yet..?

Still confused? Government at work or is that "work in progress"?

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fasteddie Grand Master

fasteddie

Posted
Posted

This was in today's Rochester D&C

State extends deer season

Three-day youth hunt also set for October

Leo Roth

Staff writer

Clarkson’s Gerry Rightmyer is an avid hunter, participating in both ar­chery and firearms season in New York for big game. By the time the fall is over, he’s pretty whipped.

“And now I’vegot two more weeks to hunt,’’ Rightmyer said.

He’s not complaining.

On Wednesday, the state released new regulations regarding whitetail deer hunting that benefit both bowhunters and youth hunters in New York’s South­ern Zone that encompasses the Roches­ter region.

Starting this fall, there will be a three­day youth hunt beginning on the Satur­day of Columbus Day weekend during which licensed hunters ages 14 and 15 can kill a deer with a firearm.

Meanwhile, the start of bow season will move to Oct. 1. That’s a solid two weeks ahead of the old start date.

“I definitely welcome an extra two weeks of bow season,’’ said Rightmyer, a pro staffer for Cabela’s and official rack scorer for several organizations, includ­ing the New York State Big Buck Club. “It’s a fantastic opportunity, especially nowadays when it seems more and more things are getting taken away. This is a case of adding and enhancing a hunt­er’s experience, which is good.’’

The Department of Environmental Conser­vation announced changes in its regula­tions after a lengthy public input period re­garding its Five-Year Deer Management Plan. Hunting and fishing is a vital part of the state economy, with New York’s sportsmen spend­ing nearly $2 billion an­nually on their outdoor pursuits, according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service studies.

All license sales (fish­ing and hunting) topped 1.3 million for 2011-12, generating $37.7 mil­lion. That money is used to fund fish and wildlife programming. Monroe County ranked second in total license sales with 57,085, behind only Erie’s 92,202.

According to license sales figures, big game hunters number approxi­mately 637,000 across the state. Resident big-game license sales, however, have been dropping at an average of 2 percent since 1990 and it took a huge in­crease in license fees in 2009 to keep revenues sta­ble.

By adopting a big­game youth weekend for firearms, the DEC is hop­ing to recruit new hunt­ers.

The state already has youth weekends, during which young hunters en­ter the woods alongside adult mentors, for small game species such as tur­key and waterfowl. The DEC further supports leg­islation that could reduce the minimum age for big game hunting with a fire­arm from 14 to 12.

A previous change to the start of regular fire­arms season from a Mon­day to the third Saturday in November short­changed bowhunters of a weekend. But the Oct. 1 start for both adult and junior bo­whunters in the Southern Zone will add an average of 15 additional hunting days, including four weekend days. Some bowhunters spoke out against a youth firearms hunt timed for the first weekend of ar­chery season. But a longer season overall is seen as a compromise. The DEC said concerns about discharged fire­arms negatively impact­ing deer behavior in the early fall are unwarrant­ed.

There are already more than 100,000 small game hunters afield at that time. At least 15 other states have youth deer firearm hunts that coincide with bowhunting seasons, in­cluding New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

“It’s a nice compro­mise in order to recruit new hunters,’’ said Right­myer, who with friends has mentored many young hunters in the past. “It seems like a win-win. Firearms discharging will have a minimal effect at best.’’ Meanwhile, bear sea­sons will continue to run concurrent with deer sea­sons but DEC is develop­ing a black bear manage­ment plan where alterna­tive season structures may be considered.

[email protected]

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