Clint.

I hunt in Northern New York, east of Lake Ontario. We had a few mild winters here and the deer herd exploded numerically. There were lots of car-deer accidents. Farmers complained about deer eating their crops. Good scenario, wouldn' t you say? Here in New York State, hunting matters are governed by the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). Anyway, the DEC seems determined to eliminate the deer here in the northern zone any way it can. They were very slow to get on top of things in the first place. Now, they are issuing what is called " nuisance permits" to farmers. I know one farmer who was just given permits to kill 10 does. There are many others given the same opportunity. There is an area near here called the Tug Hill Plateau where lake effect snows get very deep in winter. It is very hard on the deer herd. I know a farmer on Tug Hill who was given 20 " nuisance permits" to thin the deer out on his property. The problem in all this is that winter was quite severe last year. The number of deer is in decline. Everyone here has noticed there are fewer deer this year. It is especially true on Tug Hill. However, the DEC is slow to respond and continues to issue " nuisance permits" . They are too slow to respond in the first place, and too late in responding to the actions they have initiated when their efforts have been accomplished. Sorry to complain, but their management stinks! How about you people? Are you satisfied with the management of " the powers that be" in your area/state? I think we need fewer biologists and professional foresters....and more hunters involved in game management.

Clint

MDManiac

well, thats odd, here in Oneida County, NY, There are a ton of deer...oh well i suppose, the DEC will respond...where on the Tug HIll are you?

shedhead

Let me ask you. Do you harvest does yourself or do you just wait for the big buck? One on the problems is that hunters are not willing to take does and just want a buck. If hunters harvested enough animals to help control the population than nuisance permits would not be necessary. You cant blame a farmer whose crops are being devastated by large deer numbers. Their crops are their livelihood.

davidmil

I hunt up in that area. TOns of does running around. So many if fact that my brother and his cronies decided to shoot only does with the muzzleloaders this year. I think part of the problem you may not see is the carrying capacity of the winter range. In your area the deer yard up in the open swamps in bad times. Every spring the " yard" is full of deer that died from starvation. thinning the herd probably will ensure that a couple more deer have enough to eat this winter to survive.

BUT, as far as the NYSDEC department operating in a " TIMELY" manner. I really don' t think so. They always seem to be about 7 or 8 years behind on sound management. When they should have allowed a doe or two, they were being real cheap and going only for the extra fees they could generate. Then they got to liking the extra money and issued more fees. There are areas in the Southern Tier where they just issued TOO MANY. There are areas where they' re still 7 or 8 years behind. NOPE, they don' t operate in a timely manner. Too much politics in the whole thing. Me, I get the priviledge of paying $250 for a non resident license and then being told I can' t apply for any doe tags in the areas I hunt. Now if I want to travel to other parts of the state away from friends and family and my hunting lands I' m guaranteed them. But my brother and friends get TWO tags for my area. Go figure.... I can' t apply.. he gets two. I pay several hundred in fees and hotel bills in the Southern Tier and can' t apply. Really sucks. No, I don' t like NYSDEC. I should just fudge it and get a resident license. I have a means of doing that... AND THEN I' D GET A TAG and save a couple hundred.[&:]

When I die I want them to put on my Tombstone... " Holder of World Record of Preference Points" .

Clint.

Davidmil, you hit the nail right on the head! But being a resident really isn' t any better. Those of you who think the farmers need this help...in some of those areas there just aren' t any deer to speak of...and they apply for the permits and get them anyway. I have seen them handing out those permits to others who then use them in other areas. I kill does with my bow. In fact, I just did. I prefer the meat of a doe in many instances. If they would give me more tags, I would kill another. David is right, DEC is a very political organization. Area outside of the big woods had no deer when I was younger. I worry that DEC is going to cause that to happen again in the northern zone. By the way, I plan to do more hunting in the southern tier next year. They seem to be much more plentiful there. Thanks.
Clint