[[/quote]
I think the adoption of the DECALS system and the myriad of changes that accompanied the new licensing system has caused the most woes. Prior to 2002 (launch of DECALS) NYS hunters, including bowhunters, were issued a buck tag (which was valid through all seasons, early archery and extended it was valid for deer of either sex), and if you were fortunate enough, you could get up to two DMPs. The DMP could be filled during the last week or so of early archery, in the DMP it was valid for, to use on an antlerless deer. You could not use a DMP in extended season - which is still true today.
[/quote]

Doc,

Not to be critical but a DMP can be used for the taking of an antlerless deer in the late archery or muzzleloader season. I hunt some of the same areas you do (9J, 9K, and 9R).

Deer Management Permit
Antlerless Deer Only
Valid only for the WMU specified on the DMP
Valid in all Southern Zone seasons (with appropriate privileges), including all Westchester & Suffolk County seasons, and in the Northern Zone regular season and late muzzleloading season (not valid in Northern Zone archery or early muzzleloading seasons)from the DEC website......all Southern Zone Seasons.

I stand corrected, thank you! This also jogs the memory concerning this relatively new approach to DMPs, and this concern was brought up to the DEC. From what I have heard, this may change in the Southern Zone next season, depending on support from hunters.A couple concerns are actually on the table rightnow. The use of DMPs in seasons other than regular season (you can take two antlerless animals already with your two early/ late season tags) to be removed. Can use DMPs onlyduring regular season. The next is the legality to consign/ transfer your DMP to another hunter legally (although how does one enforce this?) With sentiments as they are amongst hunters and the DEC, hunters believing the DEC was trying to wipe out the deer during the early part of this decade through very liberalDMP issuances, is this somethingthat you and others would support?

I personally have all kinds of ideas about how NY could handle their deer management. I for one would like to see deer check stations so the DEC could get some idea exactly what the status of the herd is. This woud eliminate the need for reporting, and give them an exact idea of what is being taken, ages of the deer being taken and health of the herd. As far as how many deer, make it a one doe and one buck limit, but make additional tags available as the numbers develop, as in more available tags if the herd looks like numbers are up, and late in the season issued tags as you fill the tags you are issued and the herd numbers warrant it. I am sure there is alot of fine tuning to be done, but something different should be tried, even if it is a pilot program. After all, things change. The problem is this state loves to drag its feet. Case in point is the 16 year old big game limit.

If hunters won't take the few minutes to report now, do we think they will find a check station? Especially the ones doing their own processing?

As far as changing the when and who of the DMP's, whats important is to get thereal % of tagsfilled vs issued from an accurate reporting system to determine if the goals are being met. Then you adjust tags issued to meet this. Who and when is irrelevant as long as the target number is close to the actual.

As a general principle I would welcome changes that give hunters more options and oppose those that would restrict them.

I like the idea of allowingDMP's to be used in any of the seasons. I can't see where restricting their use to the regular season would add to any hunters enjoyment of the sport but it certainly could damage it for some if not many. What's the problem if a hunter would rather use his/her DMP in the archery season for example and not the regular firearms season? If the management goal is to remove some number of doe from the herd then it seems to me the weapons or seasons they are taken in is irrelevant.

I also like the option of transferring DMP's to another hunter. It gives a hunter that want's to take an extra couple of deer the chance to do it. Again, the goal is to trim the doe population. Removing the transfer option does nothing to help in that regard.

Check stations? I absolutely hate the idea! How many hunters drag their deer from the woods into the back yard or to the barn or whatever. Now we would require them to load up their deer and travel to some location and possibly wait in line for somebody to check it out? There may be better ways to irritate hunters across this state but I can't think of one. Not only that, but how many state employees would we need to hire to manthese stations? I'll say it again, I absolutely hate the idea!

I vote that DMP's be used in what ever season the hunter chooses and that we continue to callinourkills. Takes me 3 mintues to make a call versethe time loading, driving to & from, time waiting to get checked etc. Plus it never seems to fail that I hear their not enough DEC agentsas it is, so why tie them up in check station?

I like the idea of AR, however I have no hard facts in front of me to post to counter-claims those who are against it. The bigger issue for me I think is my areaand some of the local hunter'smorals toward taking deer. They tend to kill any & amount ofdeer and either butcher the deer themselves or take it to a local farmer who believes in recycling the tags. Bring him the deer and he'll give you your unfilled tag back. So with that mind set, no matter what rules, laws etc are in place, some are not going to follow.

Excellent feedback. I agree with most of the replies, especailly the DMP usage, as the purpose of the DMP is to control the deer numbers. Since these are WMU specific, I personally have no issue with it. However, the sentiments of many hunters is different, with their concerns rooted in the number of tags the DEC issues to hunters as a whole.

Another interesting factor in this was admitted by the DEC a couple years ago, and that is their instant lottery system has been issuing more permits than the DEC determined to issue as a whole. According to the DEC, "We didn't know how skilled Hunters are at playing the lottery."

I remember the first year of this new system quite well (beyond the server crashes and then running out of paper, etc.) as the DEC had another round of tag issuances a couple weeks before regular season. I ended up with 3 DMPs that year.

But the maganament stratgeies have changed their focus. I believe this has a lot to do with Commissioner Sheehan, and that is a credit to her - she is one of our allies, for certain. Thanks for the input...

Check stations - DEC already sets these up, but they are not mandatory, unless you happen to be driving up to one with a deer on your car, I believe. The DEC also visits local deer processors, and they scan the tags which can quickly verify if the harvest has been reported. This is where the DEC comes up with their "fudge factor".

However, what I don't get, is that if they use processor visits and scan tags to determine whether the harvest has been reported and to come up with their estimated compliancy rate, why not notify the hunter of his failure to report the animal? Certainly doesn't work for the do it yourself cutters. Perhaps the DEC is concerned about driving away business to that specific processor?

The bottom line is once the deer numbers are stabilized (and they showed some stabilization last year, hencemodest increase in DMP issuance) we must all be vigilent and assist the DEC with their altered deer management philosophies. They cannot do it on their own and expect success. Since we, as hunters, are the primary tool for deer management, we to, IMHO, have a responsibility to do the job in total, which includes proper reporting. LOts of banter going on over this one.