January Deer Hunting Opportunity in Central New York

From January 11-31, 2020, there will be an antlerless deer season opens 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.

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