Back in March the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation proposed some changes to the regulations for hunting deer. They asked for public input and after receiving more than 1000 responses, they have adopted the new rules.

The primary tool that the DEC has for controlling the size of the deer herd is the Deer Management Permit (DMP, a.k.a. “doe tag”). These tags are given out for specific Wildlife Management Units (WMUs) and are used to focus the harvest size very specifically in a given area.

Under the new regulations, 23 of the WMUs will now have no specific quota set for the DMPs. In these areas the deer population is simply too large. If a hunter is successful in harvesting an antlerless deer, he or she will be able to get another DMP automatically issued. For the 2026 season, that includes WMUs 1C, 3M, 3P, 3R, 3S, 4J, 6P, 7F, 7H, 7J, 7R, 8A, 8C, 8F, 8G, 8H, 8J, 8N, 8R, 8S, 9A, 9F, and 9G.

Last year hunters could apply for DMPs in two different units. Going forward they will be able to apply for four (two in WMUs without a quota and two in WMUs with a quota). The new regulations also allow for an unlimited number of DMPs to be transferred to a hunter.

The DEC has also extended the mid-September antlerless season (it runs for nine days) to include 10 more WMUs. They are 3P, 6P, 7F, 7H, 7J, 7R, 8H, 8R, 8S, and 9G.

In addition to all of the new tag availability, the DEC will be implementing a statewide program called the Earn-a-2nd-Buck System. Hunters and the outdoor press have nicknamed it EA2B.

This new EA2B system will give each deer hunter an Antlered Deer Tag (a.k.a. “buck tag”) that can be used in any season that the hunter has privileges for (except, of course, the special 9-day antlerless season). Hunters who successfully harvest an antlerless deer with a DMP, DMAP or Bow/Muzzleloader Antlerless Tag, and report it, will then get a second Antlered Deer Tag.

According to the press release from the DEC, they have ample safeguards in place if the new program should prove to be a little too successful and exceed its goals. I’m glad to hear that because some of these changes are quite dramatic.

There are indeed areas of the state where the deer herd has grown too large for the available resources. Not so much here in our beloved Catskills, but certainly in other places. I’m glad to see the DEC taking steps to try and find a solution to the problem, for the sake of the deer, if nothing else. 

I’ve only presented an overview of the changes here and encourage everyone to read more about the new regulations. The full rules are on the DEC website.

There is a lot of talk in the outdoor press about the challenges that the DEC will face in enforcing some of this (things like people using heads of road kill deer as proof of harvesting a doe to get a second buck tag, etc., etc.). But in the end, being honest and doing the right thing is a large part of what being a sportsman is all about.

Let’s all enjoy the outdoors!

John S. Van Etten is the current president of the Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs of Sullivan County, Inc.