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DEC makes game management changes; hunting, trapping licenses go on sale Monday

Posted 8/9/15

Improvements to the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s sporting license-issuance and game harvest reporting system are in place in time for this year’s hunting season, according to …

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DEC makes game management changes; hunting, trapping licenses go on sale Monday

Posted

Improvements to the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s sporting license-issuance and game harvest reporting system are in place in time for this year’s hunting season, according to DEC Acting Commissioner Marc Gerstman.

The 2015-16 hunting and trapping licenses go on sale Aug. 10 and are valid beginning Sept. 1. Licenses and permits can be purchased at one of DEC's license-issuing agents around the state, as well as by telephone and online.

License-issuing agents list can be found at: http://www.dec.ny.gov/permits/95448.html, licensecenter.ny.gov or 1-866-933-2257.

License buyers should have the following items ready when applying: name and address; customer ID number if they have it; proof of residency information (driver's license number or non-driver's ID number with a valid NYS address to qualify for a resident license); and, if purchasing by phone or internet, a credit card and card expiration date. Hunting license purchases require individuals to provide proof of a hunting education certification or a copy of a previous license, if this information is not already contained in their license system file.

In addition, DEC changed the Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP) to streamline the program and expand opportunities for landowners needing deer management assistance.

“DEC talked to the sporting community and license-issuing agents, and made significant improvements to the licensing system based on their feedback,” Acting Commissioner Gerstman said. “These improvements streamline the process to buy sporting licenses. We look forward to welcoming sportsmen and sportswomen to the vast array of opportunities New York offers to go afield in the upcoming hunting and trapping seasons.”

Enhanced Sporting License Automated System

DEC and the New York State Office of Information Technology Services worked with contractors to make DEC’s sporting license-issuance and game harvest system more user friendly and faster to enhance service to New York’s hunters, anglers and trappers. Two new user interfaces make selling licenses by license-issuing agents and purchases by online customers easier and more intuitive.

In developing the system improvements, DEC met with license-issuing agents and online customers to gather their suggestions. The resulting new user interfaces offer several new features including allowing license-issuing agents and online purchasers the ability to:

• readily access more information such as the current licenses, privileges, permits and tags held, as well as the most recent Wildlife Management Units where the hunter successfully applied for deer management permits

• easily update personal information, such as current address, to help ensure DEC’s information is up-to-date and the license is valid;

• move through fewer screens;

• sell multiple short-term fishing licenses;

• streamline game harvest reporting process; and

• report multiple harvests in one session.

DEC also made several modifications to the Deer Management and Assistance Program to increase its efficiency and effectiveness. These changes include: expanding opportunities for landowners where abundant deer are preventing forest regeneration; increasing the number of deer an individual hunter can shoot under a single DMAP permit from two to four; clarifying that hunters may participate under multiple DMAPs; and reducing the paperwork landowners need to participate in the program.

Newly adopted regulations shorten the fall turkey hunting seasons in New York due to a declining turkey population across the state. The new fall seasons are two weeks long with a statewide season bag limit of one bird of either sex. Season dates vary regionally with the season in the Northern Zone running October 1-14, the Southern Zone running October 17-30, and Suffolk County (Long Island) running November 21-December 4. Further details are found on DEC’s website at http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/8366.html.

Declining wild turkey populations across the state make it necessary to shorten the hunting seasons so that DEC can responsibly manage New York's wild turkey populations to ensure that future generations of hunters have the opportunity to go afield.

DEC received approximately 120 comments on this regulatory proposal. Almost all of the comments expressed concern over the decline in wild turkey populations over the past 15 years, and many were supportive of DEC's efforts to modify the fall hunting season to accommodate changing turkey populations and environmental conditions.