NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A10175
SPONSOR: Rules (Giglio JA) TITLE OF BILL:
An act directing the department of environmental conservation to estab-
lish a deer management pilot program in the town of Southold
PURPOSE:
A Deer Management Pilot Program is to be established within the town of
Southold to limit deer overpopulation and identify potential legislative
solutions.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill establishes a deer management pilot program in the
Town of Southold. This pilot program will be under the purview of the
Department of Environmental Conservation, and the DEC will be given full
authority tc issue, modify, or repeal any rules or regulations regarding
the recreational deer hunting season as they deem necessary, notwith-
standing any other rule, regulation, or provision of law. The DEC will
also be granted authority to regulate deer culling by qualified profes-
sionals, including but not limited to issuing special permits for quali-
fied professionals and establishing, modifying, or repealing regulations
for said special permit holders.
Section 2 of the bill provides that this act shall take effect imme-
diately.
JUSTIFICATION:
The town of Southold is one of the many communities across New York that
are experiencing an explosion in deer population. This has led to a
startling rise in deer-vehicle accidents, tickborne illness, and ecolog-
ical devastation. Deer evolved under high predatory pressure, experienc-
ing as high as a 40% mortality rate in the wild. The current lack of
natural predators has led to a deer population which is unmanageable
with the tools currently at our disposal. Overpopulation of deer threat-
ens forest regeneration, crowds out other herbivores, and destroys prop-
erty.
Most laws around deer hunting were crafted at a time when they were
considered a scarce resource; today these strict parameters hinder
attempts to effectively limit deer populations to sustainable levels.
Legislative changes are cumbersome and cannot address the on-the-ground
reality in a timely manner. This pilot program will grant the DEC the
flexibility to issue regulations as needed, allowing them to constantly
monitor the changing situation and react quickly. The Town of Southold
will work alongside the DEC to develop rules and processes for this
program, and this program will serve as a blueprint for future partner-
ships between municipalities and the DEC. It will also help to identify
potential adjustments to the Environmental Conservation Law for imple-
mentation on a statewide level.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the state.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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10175
IN ASSEMBLY
May 4, 2022
___________
Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A.
J. A. Giglio) -- read once and referred to the Committee on Environ-
mental Conservation
AN ACT directing the department of environmental conservation to estab-
lish a deer management pilot program in the town of Southold
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, rule, or regu-
2 lation to the contrary, the department of environmental conservation is
3 hereby authorized and directed to establish a deer management pilot
4 program in the town of Southold. Such program shall:
5 a. set and modify deer hunting seasons and regulate methods of take
6 and bag limits in the town of Southold;
7 b. allow use of firearms to take deer during the regular season and
8 eliminate acreage minimums and special season constraints within the
9 town of Southold;
10 c. regulate crossbow use within the town of Southold, including when,
11 where, and who is eligible to use crossbows for the taking of deer;
12 d. set conditions under which hunters can receive some form of compen-
13 sation for killing deer within the town of Southold;
14 e. allow 12- and 13-year-old hunters to hunt deer with the supervision
15 of a licensed, experienced adult within the town of Southold;
16 f. allow 12- and 13-year-old hunters to hunt using firearms from a
17 tree stand within the town of Southold, provided it is a tree stand
18 designed to accommodate two or more persons and provided further that
19 the supervising, experienced hunter is in the tree stand with the 12- or
20 13-year-old;
21 g. allow the department of environmental conservation to establish or
22 extend, as needed, a special January firearm season within the town of
23 Southold;
24 h. allow the department of environmental conservation to regulate the
25 standards for the harvesting of bucks or antlered deer within the town
26 of Southold;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15598-02-2
A. 10175 2
1 i. establish other incentives for hunters and landowners to permit
2 public deer hunting on private land within the town of Southold;
3 j. issue any other rules or regulations as deemed necessary within the
4 town of Southold;
5 k. regulate deer culling by qualified professionals under circum-
6 stances holding special permits, including:
7 (i) authorizing the department of environmental conservation to issue
8 special permits for qualified professionals under controlled circum-
9 stances to conduct professional culling within the town of Southold;
10 (ii) granting the department of environmental conservation full regu-
11 latory authority over the issuance of such special permits and granting
12 the department authority to establish any rules and regulations neces-
13 sary within the town of Southold, including but not limited to:
14 (1) authorizing the use of bait within 300 feet of a road;
15 (2) authorizing special permit holders to shoot from a vehicle;
16 (3) authorizing special permit holders to discharge firearms within
17 500 feet of a dwelling or structure;
18 (4) authorizing the use of firearms equipped with sound suppression;
19 (5) authorizing the use of rifles; and
20 (6) any other rules or regulations for such special permits as the
21 department of environmental conservation deems fit within the town of
22 Southold.
23 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
