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 goal of the Deer Management Assistance Program within Doodletown WMA is to create a healthier, more biologically diverse forest ecosystem,” said DEC Regional Director Anthony Luisi. "By controlling the deer population on this WMA, the young forest habitat that the New England cottontail requires will have the opportunity to regenerate. This is a great opportunity for hunters to take an additional deer while helping with forest management."

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 for wildlife management, wildlife habitat management, and wildlife-dependent recreation. An important species to be managed at Doodletown WMA is the New England cottontail, a species of special concern in New York State. Planned management actions will protect critical habitat to support populations of New England cottontail. DEC Forestry and Wildlife staff determined that the deer population on the Doodletown WMA will inhibit the desired regrowth of the forest after management cuts designed to improve New England cottontail habitat are made in the coming years. For more information about Doodletown WMA, go to https://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/112438.html.

DMAP tags will be available to individuals with a valid state hunting license on a first-come, first-served basis at a DEC booth in the Ancram Town Hall parking lot, 1416 County Rd 7, Ancram NY 12502 on Sept. 23 from 5 p.m. until 7:30 p.m.  If there are remaining tags, they will be available for pick up at the DEC Region 4 headquarters, 1130 North Westcott Road, Schenectady, NY 12306, on Oct. 4 from 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. For more information or to inquire about remaining tags, please call the Region 4 Wildlife Office at (518) 357-2158.