New York Hunting and Trapping Rule Changes Proposed for 2016

Hunters and trappers have been speaking up about existing hunting and trapping rules and the New York Department of Environmental Conservation has listened.

According to the NY Department of Environmental Conservation, they are now accepting public comments on several regulatory proposals for hunting black bear and white-tailed deer and for fisher trapping and general trapping regulations.

A few of the proposed changes would be for deer and bear hunting in order to increase opportunities for junior hunters to take bears, rescind an antlerless-only rule from 2015 in portions of southeastern New York and the Lake Plains, reduce antlerless harvests in two management units in the western Adirondacks, and clarify when special season tags may be used by bow and muzzleloader hunters.

For a more detailed explanation of the proposed changes, click here. The NY Department of Environmental Conservation is asking that comments on the proposed deer and bear hunting regulations be made by June 25, 2016, while comments on the proposed fisher and general trapping regulations  be received by June 10, 2016.