I contacted the DEC's Frank Morlock who heads the Northern Montezuma
Field Office on Morgan Rd. and below are excerpts of his response re:
WMU's open for the early antlerless deer season. Frank has been very
supportive of the Muckrace and has installed signage and alerted
hunters to the fact that there will be numerous birders as well as
other members of the public on state WMU’s on 9/11.
This early deer season news came last minute to the FOTMWC and
apparently even to many DEC personnel (who assumed it would be
implemented in 2022, not this year).
Please note what I’ve underlined/highlighted in red:
________________________________________________________________________________
"Below is the link that describes the deer hunting seasons in
NYS...including this new September season.
https://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/28605.html [1]
A legal description of the WMU boundaries is below.
https://govt.westlaw.com/nycrr/Document/I21bfafb6c22211ddb7c8fb397c5bd26b?viewType=FullText&originationContext=documenttoc&transitionType=CategoryPageItem&contextData=(sc.Default)
[2]
Most people aren't going to read through these unless they're hunting
near the border of two different WMUs, in which case it's important to
know which one you're in. For the Muckrace this might be helpful.
However, I think it's safer, given that a large part of the Complex is
in WMUs 8F and 8J, for participants to assume that they will likely be
birding where there is an active antlerless deer hunting season
occurring on the 11th.
The Montezuma Audubon Center or the land it sits on is not owned by
NY Audubon, rather it is owned by NYS and managed by the DEC's Bureau
of Wildlife (Northern Montezuma Field Office on Morgan Rd). There is
however a No-Hunting zone around the Audubon Center. The land owned by
TNC on Carncross allows deer hunting by permit only. I do not know if
they allow it during this early September season, but the permit only
allows for deer hunting in the woodlot on the west side of their
property.
WMU 8J being mistakenly omitted from the list, but included in the
map was a simple error and has been corrected. From what I understand,
8J was always part of what was proposed. Keep in mind these WMUs are
included because they fail to meet population objectives.
Hunters in NY are statistically an extremely safe group. While deer
hunters can now legally begin shooting starting 1/2 hour before
sunrise and 1/2 hour after sunset, they're also now legally
responsible for wearing blaze orange or pink. These two changes fall
in line with regulations in most other states."
___________________________________________________________________________________
Meanwhile, the Friends Of The Montezuma Wetlands Complex recommends
that participants be aware of their surroundings while birding and
encourages team/team members to wear blaze orange. Extra vests/hats
will be available at the MAC for use during the event. If an area
seems active with hunters and you are uncomfortable then it may be
best to move on to another location. It is unfortunate that Muckrace
participants may have to make these concessions, but we are confident
the event can proceed as planned and look forward to your
participation.
Kyle Gage
(Acting) President FOTMWC
Links:
------
[1] https://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/28605.html
[2]
https://govt.westlaw.com/nycrr/Document/I21bfafb6c22211ddb7c8fb397c5bd26b?viewType=FullText&originationContext=documenttoc&transitionType=CategoryPageItem&contextData=(sc.Default)
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Cayugabirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm
ARCHIVES:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds
3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html
Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/
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