Hunting and Trapping Newsletter

January Deer Hunting Opportunity in Central New York

From January 11-31, 2020, there will be an antlerless deer season open in the Deer Management Focus Area (DMFA) in Tompkins County. To participate, hunters must register with the DMFA Program and download a permit, carcass tags and a hunting activity log from the DMFA web page. Registered hunters may take up to two antlerless deer per day using any hunting implement that is legal during any other deer season at the site where they are hunting.

The 60,000-acre DMFA was created in 2012 to help communities in the Ithaca area address problems caused by deer overabundance. It allows harvest of up to two antlerless deer per day throughout all the general deer hunting seasons, in addition to the January DMFA season. Hunters must carry a DMFA permit and DMFA carcass tags while they are hunting during the January season. They must also record their DMFA deer hunting activity and harvests on their hunting activity log and submit it to DEC by February 7. Additional information, including DMFA boundary descriptions and a printable map, is available on the DEC website.

Firearms Deer Season in Suffolk County, Long Island

The regular bowhunting deer season in Suffolk County runs through January 31. The 2020 firearms deer season in Suffolk County will run January 5 through January 31, including weekends. Town permits are now only required in the towns of Babylon, Huntington, Southampton, Islip, and Smithtown.

For those who missed the lottery to hunt for deer on DEC-managed lands during the firearms season, we will take reservations for unclaimed spots between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on December 20-24 and 26-31 and between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on weekdays January 5-31. Hunters may only make one reservation. For more information on reservation procedures and to see which DEC-managed lands are available for firearms deer hunting, please visit our website.

For regulations, places to hunt, and additional information, please visit DEC's Hunting on Long Island web page, or contact the DEC Region 1 Wildlife Office at (631) 444-0310.

Attention Ruffed Grouse Hunters – Watch out for Spruce Grouse!

With deer season coming to a close in the Northern Zone, many hunters will return to their pursuit of ruffed grouse. Ruffed grouse hunters are reminded to positively identify their quarry before shooting. The Northern Zone, specifically Wildlife Management Units 5C, 5F, 6F, and 6J, is also home to the spruce grouse. The spruce grouse is a state-endangered species and is not legal to hunt. Loss of a spruce grouse, particularly a female spruce grouse, could be a significant setback for a small local population.

Spruce grouse exist in lowland conifer forests in the Adirondacks. Although ruffed grouse occur in upland hardwoods statewide, during the fall and winter ruffed grouse may be found in spruce grouse habitat. Small game hunters in the Adirondack region must be able to distinguish between these species so that spruce grouse are not shot by mistake. For tips on how to discern the two species, view the Hunting and Trapping Regulations Guide or the ruffed grouse Hunting Information page on DEC’s website.

DEC is looking for ruffed grouse hunters to submit feathers from harvested birds in order to assess recruitment (number of young produced per adult female grouse) for different parts of the state. Interested hunters should visit the Ruffed Grouse Hunting Information on DEC's website.