S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
9090
I N S E N A T E
May 9, 2022
___________
Introduced by Sen. PALUMBO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Environmental Conservation
AN ACT directing the department of environmental conservation to estab-
lish a deer management pilot program in the town of Southold
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, rule, or regu-
lation to the contrary, the department of environmental conservation is
hereby authorized and directed to establish a deer management pilot
program in the town of Southold. Such program shall:
a. set and modify deer hunting seasons and regulate methods of take
and bag limits in the town of Southold;
b. allow use of firearms to take deer during the regular season and
eliminate acreage minimums and special season constraints within the
town of Southold;
c. regulate crossbow use within the town of Southold, including when,
where, and who is eligible to use crossbows for the taking of deer;
d. set conditions under which hunters can receive some form of compen-
sation for killing deer within the town of Southold;
e. allow 12- and 13-year-old hunters to hunt deer with the supervision
of a licensed, experienced adult within the town of Southold;
f. allow 12- and 13-year-old hunters to hunt using firearms from a
tree stand within the town of Southold, provided it is a tree stand
designed to accommodate two or more persons and provided further that
the supervising, experienced hunter is in the tree stand with the 12- or
13-year-old;
g. allow the department of environmental conservation to establish or
extend, as needed, a special January firearm season within the town of
Southold;
h. allow the department of environmental conservation to regulate the
standards for the harvesting of bucks or antlered deer within the town
of Southold;
i. establish other incentives for hunters and landowners to permit
public deer hunting on private land within the town of Southold;
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15598-02-2
S. 9090 2
j. issue any other rules or regulations as deemed necessary within the
town of Southold;
k. regulate deer culling by qualified professionals under circum-
stances holding special permits, including:
(i) authorizing the department of environmental conservation to issue
special permits for qualified professionals under controlled circum-
stances to conduct professional culling within the town of Southold;
(ii) granting the department of environmental conservation full regu-
latory authority over the issuance of such special permits and granting
the department authority to establish any rules and regulations neces-
sary within the town of Southold, including but not limited to:
(1) authorizing the use of bait within 300 feet of a road;
(2) authorizing special permit holders to shoot from a vehicle;
(3) authorizing special permit holders to discharge firearms within
500 feet of a dwelling or structure;
(4) authorizing the use of firearms equipped with sound suppression;
(5) authorizing the use of rifles; and
(6) any other rules or regulations for such special permits as the
department of environmental conservation deems fit within the town of
Southold.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.