• Recreational Use & Permits
• Education & Outreach
• Contact Us

Sign up for Email Updates

Email a Friend

Hunting on Water Supply Lands

	Current Hunting Areas
	Quality Deer Management (QDM) in the Towns of Kent & Putnam Valley
	Hunting Tag Application
	Rules for the Recreational Use of Water Supply Lands and Waters

DEP allows deer, bear, turkey and small game hunting on designated City Water Supply lands and as provided by New York State regulations. DEP Hunt Tags are issued annually to valid DEP Access Permit holders who apply or who hunted in the previous season and completed and submitted the prior year’s hunting survey by the due date. DEP Access Permit holders who wish to apply for the current season’s DEP Hunting Tag may do so starting in late summer of each year by mailing a completed DEP Hunting Tag application, sending an e-mail request or calling in their request, including their Access Permit number, name and mailing address to DEP - Access Permits. Hunters must also possess the appropriate, valid New York State hunting license. DEP Access Permits and Hunting Tags are not required on Public Access Areas.

Hunting on Water Supply lands begins each fall on September 1, the first day of squirrel hunting season, and ends at the close of spring turkey season on May 31.  All applicable New York State hunting regulations and laws are in effect on Water Supply hunting areas, including weapons restrictions, species restrictions and hunting seasons for the allowed game.  Designated hunting areas are available for bow, shotgun, rifle, and handgun and muzzleloader hunting where permitted by New York State regulations.  Other restrictions may exist on Water Supply hunting areas.  Hunters are responsible for familiarizing themselves with the List of Recreation Areas which may include special hunting conditions, recreation area maps, and  call the local DEP office for the area of interest to obtain more information..

See the List of Recreation Areas and Use Designations for areas available for hunting.

East of Hudson Overview Map (370 KB)

West of Hudson Overview Map (521 KB)

2007-2008 Season Hunting Guide (5.42 MB)

Any additions or changes to this list, as well as maps of individual hunting areas, will be posted here.  Further information on hunting areas can be obtained by calling the DEP Operations Office nearest the hunting area of interest. Hunters are responsible for keeping themselves informed of hunting area status.

To obtain Individual Recreation Area maps, please click here. You must have a valid DEP Access Permit in order to view and download these maps. (link will appear in a new browser window)

Quality Deer Management (QDM) in the Towns of Kent and Putnam Valley
 Many hunters are probably familiar with Quality Deer Management (QDM) from hunting magazines and other sources. QDM is the idea that a deer herd is healthiest if young bucks are allowed to grow into bigger, mature bucks, and does and bucks are in about a one-to-one balance. QDM focuses on bringing deer populations down to levels that the landscape can support long-term through the harvest of does , while improving the composition and health of herds by promoting larger, stronger bucks who will pass on their genetic material to future generations. In our area, buck-to-doe ratios may be as high as 1:50. In DEP Hunt Surveys for the past few years, hunters have regularly reported seeing as many as seven or eight does per buck. The overbrowsing of vegetation by too many deer, including the seedlings that are our future forest, is evident across the watershed and threatens the very habitat that deer need to survive.

To create bigger bucks, better herds and healthier forests, some QDM measures to promote the harvest of does and restrict the harvest of immature bucks are in effect on four hunting areas in the towns of Kent and Putnam Valley in Putnam County. These are:

• Richardsville Unit - Hunting Overview Map # 89
• West Branch Headwaters Unit – Hunting Overview Map # 88
• Knapp Road Unit – Hunting Overview Map # 87
• Boyds Corner North Unit – Hunting Overview Map #90

On these hunting areas the following conditions apply to all hunters over 17 years of age and will be enforced:

• Only does may be harvested on the following days – no bucks may be taken on these days:
• October 14 and 15, the first two days of bow season;
• November 18 and 19, the first two days of regular gun season;
• December 11 and 12, the first two days of muzzleloader season.
• On all other days of the legal hunting season, bucks may be harvested to meet these requirements:
• Antler spread of at least 15 inches in width and /or,
• Minimum of three points on a side greater than one inch long, excluding brow tines.
• Hunters are encouraged to harvest does over bucks throughout the season. If you harvest a doe on any City hunting area, you can enter the lottery drawing to win a great prize from DEP.

This project is in partnership with the Kent Rod and Gun Club and with the support of the Putnam County Sportsmen’s Federation and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The members of the Kent Rod and Gun Club also unanimously decided to practice QDM on their own lands. DEP will monitor how this program affects forest health and the local deer population and forest health with the assistance of the Club.

Help create a future of bigger bucks, healthy deer, and vigorous forests by following these conditions in the QDM areas this year and encouraging other hunters to do the same!

Quality Deer Management Antler Restrictions (377 KB)

Hunting Tag Application:
hunting.pdf (33 KB)

NOTE: Hunters who submitted hunting surveys for the previous season by the due date of January 22, will automatically receive 2008-2009 Hunting Tags, provided their Access Permits remain valid. 2008-2009 Hunting Tags will be mailed to these hunters in late summer. The following list (to be updated shortly) includes the Access Permit numbers and birthdates of hunters who completed and returned a 2007-2008 survey by the due date, and do not need to apply for a 2008-2009 Hunting Tag:

< back to recreational use & permits