Deer Management Focus Area Established In Tompkins County

Population Management Tool Allows for Taking of Antlerless Deer

A new population management tool called a Deer Management Focus Area (DMFA) has been established in Tompkins County to allow hunters with a valid New York state hunting license and valid DMFA registration to shoot two antlerless deer per day during the bow hunting, regular and late muzzle loader seasons, the state Department of Environmental Conservation announced today. In addition, a special season running from January 12, 2013 through January 31, 2013 has also been created during which hunters with a valid DMFA permit may also take two antlerless deer per day in the DMFA with any lawful hunting implement. Hunters must still comply with all state trespassing laws, as well as all applicable local ordinances governing the discharge of firearms.

"This program was established to better manage the deer population in an area with extremely high deer densities and limited hunting-related management tools," said DEC Commissioner Joe Martens.

The DMFA encompasses 60,000 acres of land in and around the city of Ithaca, NY and includes the city and town of Ithaca, the villages of Cayuga Heights and Lansing and parts of the towns of Danby, Caroline, Dryden, Lansing, Enfield, Newfield and Ulysses. A general map of the area and a legal description of the area are available at www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/82382.html.

Any person who has a big game license may register with the DMFA program and obtain a free DMFA permit via DEC's website: www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/82382.html. DEC will issue carcass tags with the permit. Both the DMFA permit and carcass tags must be carried while hunting in the DMFA and are valid only within the DMFA. Hunters must submit a hunting activity log and report all deer harvested in the DMFA no later than seven days following the close of the DMFA season. The procedures for reporting a harvested deer are described on the DMFA permit.

Lands available for hunting within the DMFA include Buttermilk Falls State Park http://www.nyspark.com/parks/151/details.aspx and Robert H. Treman State Park http://www.nyspark.com/parks/135/details.asp (bow hunting only). Cornell Campus opens some of its lands for hunting through the Cornell Campus Lands Deer Management Program, (http://wildlifecontrol.info/deer/pages/deerhunting.aspx) and Cornell Plantations has a deer management program (http://www.cornellplantations.org/our-gardens/natural-areas/stewardship/deer). In addition, hunters with legal access to private lands may also hunt in the DMFA following the regulations noted above.