I am an avid deer hunter in St. Lawrence County. My view of the current deer situation is the herd is down considerably in most areas. Why? The seasons are too long, the DEC has tried to please everyone and also sell as many tags as possible at the same time. There is almost zero enforcement of the current rules. Any hunter knows a few guy who shoot 2, 3, 4 or more bucks ever year. Or at least every buck they see. Total game hogs, and usually these guys are the ones complaining the loudest about numbers being down. DEC needs the funding to enforce the rules. Ask any hunter around here when the last time they had a DEC officer check their paperwork. Years, maybe never I would bet. So, DEC please start fixing this mess. Shorten the seasons. Start by eliminating late muzzleloader season. It was started in the late 90s to control the large herd that existed at that time. Duh DEC, wouldn’t that make sense now that the population is down? Yes, you will lose out on tag sale revenue by doing this. Use the hunting license fees as intended: to hire officers, pay overtime and increase enforcement. Start with this and then at least consider the many requests for some type of antler size restrictions. Mandate, not just ask pretty please, as you recently did, that hunters pass up small bucks. Make it a law and enforce it.