Posted By VanOtisco, 3 years ago
This year, the federal waterfowl season dates were set earlier than normal. In turn, DEC has set the dates for New York State earlier than usual.
Youth Hunts
Youth waterfowl hunts kick off the Duck hunting
season for each region in the state. These special hunts are awesome
opportunities for New York's young hunters ages 12-15. As a reminder,
each young hunter must be accompanied by a licensed adult hunter, who is
not carrying a firearm. Here are the dates by zone:
Northeastern Zone - September 17-18
Lake Champlain Zone - September 24-25
Southeastern Zone - September 17-18
Western Zone - October 1-2
Long Island Zone - November 12-13
NOTE:
The daily bag limit during youth hunts are the same as regular season
bag limits. These limits and much more are in the this year's Hunting
and Trapping Guide.
Duck Season
There
are a few changes to the regular duck season worth noting. For the
first time, hunting in the Southern Zone will open before the Northern
zone. The dates are Oct 1 and Oct 8, respectively.
In addition,
the "Special Sea Duck Season" in coastal waters of Long Island has been
eliminated due to concerns over the sea duck population. The rationale
behind this and other details of the Waterfowl Hunting Seasons can be
found on the DEC website.
Goose and Brant Season
Hunting
for Canada goose begins throughout Upstate New York on September 1. For
those hunting on central and eastern Long Island, your opening day is
set for September 6. For more information on the goose season, be sure
to view the maps and dates here.
Finally, higher than
anticipated mid-winter brant counts, DEC has increased the daily bag
limit from one bird to two birds and the season length has increased
from 30 days to 60 days.