Syracuse.com - Special deer hunting season underway this month in Central Tompkins County

[HuntingNY-News]

Those with the proper permits can take two antlerless deer a day -- each day -- of the season.

Imagine a special deer hunting season during which you could harvest two deer each day, every day.

Such seasons are in place for antlerless deer at a special location nearby, and one is actually continuing this month. In fact, it’s not too late to sign up and participate.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation last fall set up a Deer Management Focus Area in Central Tompkins County to “intensify the use of hunting to assist communities in the greater Ithaca area with the burden of over-abundant deer populations.

“The Tompkins County DMFA is the first such program in New York State,” said Steve Joule, DEC regional wildlife biologist.

The area is roughly 60,000 square acres and encompasses the city of Ithaca, the villages of Cayuga Heights and Lansing, the entire town of Ithaca and portions of the towns of Lansing, Dryden, Caroline, Danby, Newfield, Enfield and Ulysses.

“The program allows hunters with a valid state hunting license and landowner permission who register with the program to take two antlerless deer per day during the bowhunting, regular and late muzzle-loading seasons,” Joule said. “The special late season, which started Jan. 12 and runs through Jan. 31, also allows properly licensed and registered hunters to take two antlerless deer per day in the area with any lawful hunting implement.”

Antlerless deer are deer defined as does or bucks with antlers less than 3 inches long.

The use of rifles (Tompkins County does not allow them to hunt big game) and crossbows (the law allowing their use expired Dec. 31 and has not yet been renewed) in the area are banned.

Joule stressed: “The establishment of this area does not change the legal requirement that hunters must still comply with all state trespassing laws, as well as applicable local ordinances governing the discharge of firearms. Several municipalities (that fall within the area) restrict the use of firearms.

Joule added that Cornell University owns about 4,500 acres that fall into the zone. The university-owned land falls within the university’s core campus and plantation natural areas. Hunting on the Cornell land is tightly controlled, he said, noting that hunters on that property need a special Cornell permit, in addition to their regular hunting license. The deadline for applying to hunt there was Oct. 15.

The village of Cayuga Heights, which has numerous deer, is among those municipalities in the area that restricts the use of firearms and hunting. The village in November postponed its planned culling operation, Joule said, and began an expanded research program to help determine “the efficacy of fertility control of free-ranging white-tailed deer as a means of controlling population growth.”

A total of 137 deer were sterilized in the village between Dec. 1 through Dec. 15.

Deer tend to wander, though, and the possibility of hunters outside of the village shooting a sterilized deer exists.

Joule said deer that were initially captured using a tranquilizer or treated with any chemical agent “may contain compounds that render the flesh unfit for human consumption until enough time has elapsed for the chemicals to be completely metabolized and excreted by the animal.” As a result, all the sterilized deer have a tag “permanently and conspicuously” attached to their ears.

It’s not illegal to shoot one. But if a hunter does, the tag has a phone number on it and the hunter should call the number on the tag and ask for guidance about whether the meat is edible.

Joule said he was unaware of any anti-hunting protests associated with the program and added that no-trespassing complaints within the zone have been reported to the DEC.

As of this past week, a total of 3,500 hunters have applied for and received special permits to hunt within the area, Joule said.

Those who wish to participate in the program can register online on the DEC website at no cost. There are no quotas or limits established for number of participants. Hunters can “register right up to the close of the special season (Jan. 31),” Joule said.

Joule said there are no figures available yet for the number of deer that have been harvested so far.

“The plan is to evaluate the program over the next three to five years,” he said.

For more information or to download a permit application, see the DEC website.

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog