I found an interesting piece on nydeer.com in their talk forums,open discussion, dec propasal, section. It tries to explain what the DEC wants to do and why.

Basically they want more hunting oppurtunities for all grps. of hunters. Bowhunters wanted Oct 1, they got the first Sat. Muzzles wanted more time, they got the week. Gun hunters wanted Sat they got it.

What I found interesting is that they said bowhunters were worried about safety issues with the muzzleloaders week, so they decided to close archery season. I guess that backfired on bowhunters!