The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced today that the Regional Wildlife Office in Schenectady will have Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP) tags available for this hunting season on Doodletown Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in Columbia County. These DMAP tags can only be used by hunters to harvest antlerless deer on Doodletown WMA. 

“The Deer Management Assistance Program helps create a healthier, more biologically diverse forest ecosystem,” said DEC Acting Regional Director Anthony Luisi. "DMAP tags will provide hunters visiting the Doodletown Wildlife Management Area with a great opportunity to take an additional deer while helping with forest management. By controlling the deer population on this WMA, the New England cottontail will have access to the young forest habitat it needs to thrive.” 

Doodletown WMA is 1,078 acres of primarily forested land located in the towns of Ancram, Taghkanic, and Gallatin. The primary purposes of Doodletown WMA are wildlife management, wildlife habitat management, and wildlife-dependent recreation. Planned management actions will protect critical habitat to support populations of the New England cottontail, a species of special concern in New York State. Visit DEC’s website for more information about Doodletown WMA.