(a)
Purpose.
This section contains the administrative procedures for
the program (DMAP). DMAP offer s an additional tool to a land/resource manager,
or a group of land/resource managers, whose property is in need of site
specific deer management efforts, and who meet the eligibility criteria
established herein. Through DMAP, the department may issue a permit and
antlerless deer tags for use on lands owned and/or controlled by the permit
holder. Deer taken under a DMAP permit are in addition to any deer an
individual may otherwise legally take.
(b)
General provisions.
The provisions of this section shall apply to the taking
of antlerless deer, as described in subdivision (e) of this section, by
longbow, crossbow, muzzleloader or firearm pursuant to a DMAP as provided by
Environmental Conservation Law (ECL) section 11-0903, subdivision 11. The
general provisions contained in articles 11 and 71 of the ECL, except as
otherwise noted herein, relating to hunting hours, the manner of taking,
tagging, possession, transporting, reporting and other hunting regulations,
shall apply to the hunting and taking of antlerless deer pursuant to this
section.
(c)
Open
season.
DMAP permits and tags are valid during any open deer
season established in accordance with sections 11-0903 or 11-0907 of the
ECL.
(d)
License
requirements.
No person shall hunt or take antlerless deer under the
authority of a DMAP permit unless they are licensed to hunt deer during the
appropriate hunting season.
(e)
Legal harvest.
Only wild deer without antlers or having antlers
measuring less than three inches in length (''antlerless deer'') may be taken
under the authority of a DMAP permit .
(f)
Permit eligibility.
To be eligible for a DMAP permit , the applicant(s) must
meet one of the following criteria:
(1) The applicant(s) owns or controls land(s)
where agricultural deer damage has been documented or can be documented by the
department; or
(2) The applicant is
a municipality that has identified social or ecological problems due to deer
within their municipal boundary. Participating properties within the
municipality need not be contiguous, but the municipality must be the named
applicant; or
(3) The applicant(s)
owns or controls land(s) where deer damage to significant natural plant
communities has been documented or can be documented by the department. Such
damage must be identified in an existing land management plan for the property;
or
(4) The applicant(s) owns or
controls at least 100 acres of forest land contained in one or more parcels all
sharing a contiguous boundary or multiple, non-contiguous parcels of forest
land of at least 100 acres each within the same or adjacent Wildlife Management
Unit(s), where forest regeneration is negatively impacted by deer. This
negative impact must be identified in an existing forest and/or land management
plan for the property. Parcels of less than 100 acres may also be considered,
if enrolled in the Real Property Tax Law Section 480a program. Two or more
landowners may cooperate to meet the acreage requirements; or
(5) The applicant(s) owns or controls at
least 1,000 acres of land contained in one or more parcels all sharing a
contiguous boundary and involved in custom deer management . Two or more
landowners may cooperate to meet the acreage requirements. A deer management
plan specifically designed for the property must be submitted to and approved
by the department.
(6) The
applicant(s) owns or controls land(s) where deer damage has been documented or
can be documented by the department, and which is adjacent to or bordering a
parcel of publically-owned land that is at least 250 acres and is not open to
deer hunting by law, regulation, or public agency policy.
(g)
Application Procedures and permit
duration.
Application instructions will be maintained on the
department's website. There is no fee for the application or issuance of a DMAP
permit . All applications are subject to the following requirements:
(1) Application deadline will be posted with
the application instructions on the department's website. Applications not
meeting the posted deadline will be considered for enrollment the following
year. Permits will expire July 31, three years following the year of
application, unless revoked earlier by the department .
(2) Each application must designate one
person to be the named " permit holder " who will serve as the contact for all
communication with the department. This person must have authority to represent
all parties having a controlling interest in deer hunting activities on the
property(s) identified in the application. This person shall be responsible for
the distribution of all DMAP tags and provide other information the department
may deem necessary under the permit.
(3) The application form must include the
Farm Service Agency (FSA) number or the tax map identification number as
recorded in the county clerk's office for the property(s) included in the DMAP
application. Individual properties or land parcels may not be listed on more
than one DMAP application. Municipal applications shall cover all public and
private properties within their border, but the municipal permit holder must
maintain a list of all participating properties with written consent of the
associated landowners.
(4) Each
application shall describe the background and scope of the deer problem or
state the deer management goals and the reasons why such goals cannot be met
through standard hunting seasons and permits. Where a deer management plan is
not otherwise required under this section, such a plan may be required at the
discretion of the department.
(5)
Information regarding past deer harvests, existing conditions, and deer
management objectives within the Wildlife Management Unit(s) in which the
application is applied for, will be considered each year to determine DMAP
eligibility.
(6) Nothing in this
section shall be construed as requiring or obligating the department to approve
a DMAP application when in its opinion the deer damage problem will not be
effectively abated thereby or when in its opinion the deer management goals of
the applicant can be met though effective utilization of existing deer hunting
opportunities.
(h)
Tag issuance and procedures.
Under a DMAP permit , a specified number of antlerless
deer carcass tags will be issued to the applicant in accordance with the
following:
(1) The total number of
tags issued will be at the discretion of the department,
(2) DMAP tag(s) are valid only on the land(s)
specified in the DMAP permit .
(3)
No more than two DMAP tags may be used per hunter per year per DMAP permit ,
except that the department, in its discretion, may authorize the use of up to
four DMAP tags per hunter per year on DMAP permits in Wildlife Management Units
where the objective is to reduce the deer population. For those permits where
more than two tags per hunter per year may be used, the permit conditions shall
state the number of tags allowed per hunter. There is no limit on the number of
DMAP permits that a hunter may be authorized to take deer on.
(4) DMAP tags may not be sold.
(5) It shall be the responsibility of the
permit holder to distribute all DMAP tags. If the permit holder is a state or
municipal government agency, the permit holder must ensure a process of tag
distribution that provides equal opportunity for licensed hunters.
(i)
Manner of taking,
transporting, and reporting.
(1)
Immediately upon taking a deer under the authority of a DMAP permit, the taker
must use an indelible pen or indelible pencil to sign the carcass tag and fill
in all information on the carcass tag. The carcass tag must be attached to the
deer, except the carcass tag does not need to be attached while the deer is
actually being dragged to a camp, dwelling, or point where transportation is
available. The carcass tag must not be removed until the deer is prepared for
consumption. The taker must report each harvested deer to the permit holder and
to the department in accordance with current game harvest reporting
requirements as set forth in 6 NYCRR
180.10.
(2) Antlerless deer taken pursuant to a DMAP
permit must not be transported without the carcass tag attached to it except in
accordance with the provisions of subdivisions 4 and 5 of section 11-0911 of
the ECL.
(3) The permit holder is
responsible for submitting to the department an annual report of all deer taken
under the authority of their DMAP permit, by February 15 for permits issued for
properties in Suffolk County and by January 15 for properties in all other
counties.
(j)
Other regulations.
All information requested on the DMAP application must be
complete in order to receive consideration. The department may revoke or
suspend a DMAP permit where it is obtained through fraud, or where it is
obtained by persons not entitled to a DMAP permit , or where false statements
are made in the DMAP application . Failure to comply with conditions of the
DMAP permit, failure to provide an annual report in accordance with permit
conditions, and/or violations of the fish and wildlife law may result in
revocation of a DMAP permit and/or denial of future DMAP applications at the
discretion of the Department.