The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced today that the Regional Wildlife Office in Schenectady still has Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP) tags available for this hunting season on Doodletown Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in Columbia County.

The limited number of remaining DMAP tags will distributed in Columbia County to individuals with a valid state hunting license on a first-come, first-served basis at the Ancram Town Hall, 1416 County Route 7, Ancram, NY 12502, on Nov. 18 from 5 until 7 p.m. These 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 Keith Goertz. "By controlling the deer population on this WMA, the young forest habitat that the New England cottontail and other species require 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 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. 

For more information or to inquire about the remaining tags, please call the Region 4 Wildlife Office at (518) 357-2158.