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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 17-87
September 29, 2017
deppressoffice@dep.nyc.gov, (845) 334-7868

New York City DEP Announces Lottery for Deer Management Assistance Program Tags

Hunters interested in entering the lottery for DMAP tags must apply by Oct. 6

The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) today encouraged hunters to apply for special tags that will allow additional hunting on 12,751 acres of land around Ashokan, Cannonsville and Neversink reservoirs, along with a recreation unit along the border of Dutchess and Putnam counties. By expanding hunting in these areas, DEP is seeking to promote forest regeneration and protect water quality by controlling the size of deer populations in the immediate vicinity of these reservoirs. Deer in large numbers can stunt the regeneration of forest lands that serve as an important natural filter for water before it enters the reservoirs.

The special permits are made available through New York State’s Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP). As the focus of the program is to control the deer population, a DMAP permit can only be used to harvest antlerless deer. Hunters who have their regular New York State big-game hunting license are still allowed to take a buck from DEP recreation units if they receive a DMAP permit. The DMAP permits will be issued free of charge by DEP. All New York State hunting regulations apply, and those hunting on City lands in the watershed must have a valid DEP Access Permit.

This year’s program will make 80 DMAP tags available at Ashokan, 60 at Cannonsville, 70 at Neversink and 15 for the East Fishkill Recreation Unit. Hunters interested in receiving a permit must apply online. Recipients of the permits will be chosen at random through a lottery.

Areas open for hunting with a DMAP permit include the following:

  • Ashokan Reservoir: DMAPs can be used at 3,473 acres of land that are open for deer hunting around the reservoir. Please note that some of these areas are marked for bow or crossbow hunting only, while others allow all implements.
  • Cannonsville Reservoir: DMAPs can be used throughout the 4,175 acres that are open for hunting at Cannonsville Reservoir. These properties are located within the Johnny Brook and Barbour Brook recreational units.
  • Neversink Reservoir: DMAPs can be used throughout the 4,300 acres of land that are open for deer hunting within the East Neversink, West Neversink, Chandler’s Cove, Lindholm, Myers, and Schumway Road recreational units. Please note that some of these units are marked for bow or crossbow hunting only, while others allow all implements.
  • East Fishkill Recreation Unit: DMAPs can be used throughout the 803-acre unit, which straddles the border of Dutchess and Putnams counties, just north of Boyds Corner Reservoir.

Detailed maps of all hunting units are available on DEP’s interactive RecMapper utility.

The deer management program is an important tool to help control the increasing deer population around New York City’s reservoirs. Deer in large numbers stifle forest regeneration by eating saplings from the forest floor before they have a chance to grow and become mature trees. Healthy forests are important to the quality of drinking water in the reservoirs as they act as a natural filter that helps remove nitrogen, phosphorus, and other nutrients from the water that can affect taste and smell. Their leaves and branches also slow rain as it falls, and their roots grip the soil to help prevent erosion.

DEP manages New York City’s water supply, providing more than 1 billion gallons of high-quality water each day to more than 9.5 million New Yorkers. This includes more than 70 upstate communities and institutions in Ulster, Orange, Putnam and Westchester counties who consume an average of 110 million total gallons of drinking water daily from New York City’s water supply system. This water comes from the Catskill, Delaware, and Croton watersheds that extend more than 125 miles from the City, and the system comprises 19 reservoirs, three controlled lakes, and numerous tunnels and aqueducts. DEP has nearly 6,000 employees, including almost 1,000 scientists, engineers, surveyors, watershed maintainers and other professionals in the watershed. In addition to its $70 million payroll and $166 million in annual taxes paid in upstate counties, DEP has invested more than $1.7 billion in watershed protection programs—including partnership organizations such as the Catskill Watershed Corporation and the Watershed Agricultural Council—that support sustainable farming practices, environmentally sensitive economic development, and local economic opportunity. In addition, DEP has a robust capital program with $20.7 billion in investments planned over the next 10 years that will create up to 3,000 construction-related jobs per year. For more information, visit nyc.gov/dep, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

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