As leaves begin to fall in St. Lawrence County, many residents will be picking up their rifles and bows as deer hunting season begins.

Bow hunters will begin their hunt Sept. 27 and continue until Oct. 17, when early muzzleloading season begins.

Regular rifle season begins Oct. 24. Late bow and muzzleloading season begins Dec. 8 and runs through Dec. 14.

Early bear season began Sept. 19.

Deer hunters should be aware that the harvest of antlerless deer is being curtailed in WMU 6A to achieve the desired deer population in that unit. WMU 6A includes portions of St. Lawrence, Jefferson, and Franklin counties.

The area covers portions of land along U.S. Route 11 through Potsdam, Canton, and Gouverneur, to south of Gouverneur.

In this unit, DEC has not issued Deer Management Permits for antlerless deer since 2011, and the antlerless harvest has only occurred during the early and late bow and muzzleloader seasons.

With the adoption of these new rules, hunters will not be allowed to take any antlerless deer during the early muzzleloader season in this unit until the deer population rebounds.

In recent years, about half of the antlerless harvest in this unit has occurred during the early muzzleloader season.

New restrictions have also been placed on turkey hunters. Declining turkey populations is the reason the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has adopted new regulations to shorten fall turkey hunting seasons across the state, including St. Lawrence County.

The new fall seasons are two weeks long with a season bag limit of one bird of either sex. Season dates vary regionally, with the season in the northern zone running Oct. 1-14, and later in the rest of the state.

Season dates are staggered among three broad regions, which will provide more avid hunters the chance to hunt turkeys for more than two weeks.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is warning hunters and trappers they must complete mandatory hunter, bowhunter or trapper education courses before obtaining an appropriate sporting license.

Education courses can be found online at www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/7860.html or contact a local DEC regional wildlife office for assistance.

Crossbow hunting is once again allowed for big game and most small game species. Hunters who plan to hunt with a crossbow must have in their possession while afield a current year hunting license and either their completed Hunter Education Certificate of Qualification card dated on or after April 1, 2014 OR the completed Crossbow Certificate of Qualification from the annual Regulations Guide.