On October 14th the NYS DEC will be hosting a public meeting on deer management for Region 3. The meeting will be held at 7:00 p.m. at the Town of Bedford Court House located at 321 Bedford Road in Bedford Hills, New York.

The DEC is hosting these meetings to gather public opinion on the current state of the deer herd and to help manage the local herd in Region 3. They would like to consider the many differences in regional deer populations, habitat conditions and social interests.

A series of public meetings are being held throughout the state in an effort to help the NYS DEC prioritize the issues that are more important to NYS deer hunters and the general public. These meetings will be used to provide an update of the deer herd, highlight current management challenges, identify key issues and concerns as well as solicit input from hunters.

The meeting will have a Q&A session where the DEC will respond to written questions to clarify the information presented.

Additionally, those who can not attend are encouraged to write the NYS DEC at: Deer Management Program, NYSDEC, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233-4750

It is extremely important for all hunters to attend these meetings held by the DEC. They are giving us the opportunity to have our voices heard and we must take advantage of this opportunity. A few topics that may come up could include an earlier opener for the archery season, a one buck limit, antler restrictions, and expanded opportunities for antlerless harvest.

Next Steps (from the NYS DEC website):

The DEC will summarize the input received during these meetings and focus management attention on the key issues identified. We intend to craft a survey for deer hunters to get additional feedback on specific ways to address issues related to potential hunting regulation changes. Results from the survey will help guide DEC in future changes to the deer program.