The State Department of Environmental Conservation is encouraging outdoor enthusiasts to share the woods safely this fall and winter.
Hikers, nature photographers, leaf peepers, and mountain bikers are encouraged to follow safety measures while hunters and trappers are afield.
Tips for hikers and hunters venturing afield this fall include:
– Tell someone intended destinations and return times. If plans change, notify them;
– Dress for the weather; account for both location and elevation changes;
– Become familiar with planned hiking trails or hunting areas;
– Wear bright clothing; blaze orange or blaze pink. Bright colors allow hikers and hunters to be seen more easily and from farther away; and,
– Pack the 10 Essentials, especially a light source, map, and first aid kit.
While hunting-related shooting incidents involving non-hunters are extremely rare, the DEC encourages all outdoor adventurers to be aware of the presence of others outdoors. Hikers should be aware they may meet hunters bearing firearms or archery equipment while hiking on trails. Hunters are fellow outdoor recreationists and hunting is permitted on Forest Preserve and Conservation Easement lands. Hunters should likewise recognize they may encounter hikers and others enjoying the outdoors.
Hunting is among the most popular forms of wildlife recreation in the state, drawing an estimated 600,000 New Yorkers.
The DEC said hunters looking for solitude can minimize the disturbance associated with other forms of recreation by following a few tips. Before a season opens, when hunters are scouting for the perfect spot or stand location, take the time to check if the planned location is a popular one. Avoid crowding other hunters and recognize that if a hunting location is near a popular hiking spot, noise can be a factor. If a preferred hunting spot is too crowded, identify an alternative location ahead of time.
When adventuring with a pet, make sure to keep them on a leash. Loose pets can cause problems with other recreators and can get into trouble with wild animals. Also, to make pets more identifiable in the woods, give them a brightly colored collar, leash or other covering.
Hunters are critical to protecting New York deer from Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). CWD is an untreatable, fatal disease of the brain and nervous system disease caused by a misfolded protein called a prion that is spread in deer tissues, saliva, urine, and feces. Hunters can bring CWD prions into to New York without realizing it. To protect deer, do not bring hunter-killed deer, elk, moose, or caribou carcasses into New York from other states and do not use deer urine-based lures.
The DEC reminds hunters of the importance of reporting their harvest. Harvest reporting is critical to wildlife management, and hunters are required to report their harvest of deer, bear, and turkey within seven days of taking the animal. Hunters may still use the phone report system, but the online and mobile systems are fast, convenient, and easy for hunters to accurately enter information.
For more information, visit dec.ny.gov
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