| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE02-43 September 27, 2002 Contact: Geoff Ryan (718) 595-6600 Application Period For Bow Hunting On Watershed Lands ClosesCommissioner Christopher O. Ward of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced today that the application period for bow hunting of deer on certain City-owned watershed lands is now closed for the 2002 season. DEP will conduct a lottery drawing from all applications for DEP Hunting Tags that indicated an interest in archery and were postmarked on or before September 13, 2002. Applicants selected in the lottery will be notified that they have received permission to bow hunt in one of the two experimental archery areas. Applicants who were not selected by lottery will receive DEP Hunting Tags for gun only on all 23,603 acres of City-owned watershed lands open for hunting this year. Applications for gun hunting are still being accepted. Gun hunting applications must be postmarked by October 30, 2002 to be processed in time for the hunting season. Bow hunting is allowed in the designated archery areas for those hunters who have received bow permission. The archery areas, totaling 3,805 acres, are the Horse Pound Brook Unit in the town of Kent in Putnam County and two contiguous properties, Murphy Hill and Flynn Brook, in the towns of Andes and Colchester in Delaware County. All other hunting areas are closed to bow hunting in this experimental archery season. DEP Hunting Tags will be mailed directly to recipients along with the 2002 Guide to Hunting on New York City Water Supply Lands that contains DEP hunting conditions and maps of all City-owned watershed lands open to deer hunting. Commissioner Ward said, “Hunters are responsible for knowing and complying with all DEP hunting conditions and New York State hunting regulations and laws. Hunters are required to wear both their New York State deer hunting tag and DEP Hunting Tag while hunting on City-owned watershed lands. It is particularly important that visitors to City-owned lands – whether hikers, hunters or anglers -- respect the land, DEP staff, other users and the rights of neighboring landowners.” Although DEP opens City-owned watershed lands for deer hunting to meet commitments for recreational opportunities under the 1997 Watershed Memorandum of Understanding, hunting can also benefit water quality by reducing oversized deer populations. DEP ecologists, foresters, and wildlife biologists have documented signs of excessive browsing due to large deer herds at reservoirs and near streams throughout the watershed. Overgrazing limits the natural regeneration of saplings, shrubs and other forest understory plants, potentially causing increased soil erosion and reducing the pollution filtration benefits offered by vigorous vegetation. A healthy forest and stable soils are crucial to the maintenance of drinking water quality. To apply for a DEP Hunting Tag, hunters must submit an application by U.S. mail. Hunters who do not already have valid Public Access Permits may fill out applications for both a DEP Hunting Tag and Public Access Permit and submit them at the same time. Applications for DEP Hunting Tags and Public Access Permits are available at DEP Police Precincts, Protection Offices, and the Kingston, Corona and Manhattan offices, or on the DEP Web site. Public Access Permits may be obtained by submitting an application to DEP through the U.S. mail. Hunting Tag and Public Access Permit applications are available at the following locations: The DEP web site at nyc.gov/watershedrecreation DEP Police Precincts:
DEP Protection Offices [available in boxes outside the offices]:
DEP Offices [Normal business hours Monday-Friday]:
Additionally, many town halls and bait and tackle shops within the NYC Watershed carry PAP application forms.
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