Hunting Season Opens, North Haven Welcomes Hunters

Deer hunting archery season for Long Island kicks off October 1, and North Haven is welcoming hunters to help reduce the deer population in the village.

Village Clerk Ed Deyermond says that, as it has for a number of years, North Haven will allow licensed hunters on designated village-owned property. Simultaneously, a number of private property owners arrange to allows hunters onto their lands.

The goal is to get the deer population down to 50 in the 2.7-square-mile village, Deyermond says. That’s the appropriate size, according to studies, he says. The present deer population is unknown because there has not been a recent survey, he says, adding that the evidence indicates hunting has more than kept up with the birth rate.

In 2014, the village hired Connecticut deer management firm White Buffalo Inc. to carry out a deer cull. Deyermond says no firm was hired this season.

Deyermond says deer overpopulation in North Haven leads to a rise in tick-borne diseases and car accidents plus hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage to ornamental plants.

Between November 1 and December 31, archery hunting is open by DEC permit in the East Hampton Cooperative Hunting Areas: Montauk Point State Park, Hinter Hills State Park/Hither Woods, Napeague State Park and Amsterdam Beach. A Town of Southampton Cooperative Access Permit allows hunting at certain times at Southampton Hills, Noyac Preserve, Tuckahoe Swamp and Barrell Hill. Visit dec.ny.gov for more information.

According to the DEC, Long Island big game archery season is from October 1 to January 31, though certain areas have further restrictions and prohibitions.