Hunters will get an extra seven days in the woods at the end of the season—and snowmobilers, seven days fewer—after supervisors lacked a quorum to opt out of the Holiday Hunt.
DEC first proposed the Holiday Hunt in 2020 as a way to get young hunters out in the field at a time of year when families come together, the week after Christmas, December 26-January 1.
It would only apply in the Southern Zone, which includes Schoharie County, and only to bow- and muzzleloader hunters on state land.
Counties had the option of opting out of the measure by passing a resolution against it, but with just seven of 16 supervisors at their annual meeting November 8, they couldn’t vote on it in time for the November 14 deadline.
The Holiday Hunt pits Big Game hunters against snowmobilers.
The New York State Snowmobile Association opposes it, and even among hunting supervisors, there was disagreement over whether they should sign onto the extra week of hunting.
Wright Supervisor Alex Luniewski chairs supervisors’ Agriculture Committee, which offered the resolution to opt out.
Mr. Luniewski said he’d had a couple of letters from constituents arguing the extended season would keep snowmobilers—along with the increased revenue they bring in--out of the woods.
Snowmobilers can’t be in the woods, even to maintain or repairs trails, until after the Big Game season is over.
They didn’t hear from any sportsmens’ groups, Mr. Luniewski said—no surprise to Esperance Supervisor Earl VanWormer, president of the state Trappers Association, who said last Monday’s meeting was the first he’d heard of the Holiday Hunt.
Both sportsmen, Mr. Luniewski and Mr. Van Wormer had a friendly disagreement over safety, early-season snowfalls, when deer start to yard up, and the farmers’ need to control the population or lose their crops.
“I would vote against it right now…” Mr. VanWormer said.
“Yes, snowmobilers generate a lot for the economy, but I bet hunters, trappers, fishermen generate a lot more. I don’t want to limit people who are already spending hundreds of millions of dollars to benefit someone else.”
Summit Supervisor Harold Vroman said he too is an avid hunter, but supports opting out.
The season is long enough, he argued.
“Why are we waiting until the last week of December when we can hunt earlier? Almost three months of hunting is enough. You aren’t going to get the amount of hunters out that you think when it’s cold.”
The snowmobile season seems to be continually contracting, said Blenheim Supervisor Don Airey, who said he leans in favor of the extended season—though he said it was a tough call.
Gilboa Supervisor Alicia Terry, another hunter, sided with Mr. Van Wormer and Mr. Vroman against the Holiday Hunt.
Late December isn’t a good time to be pursuing deer, she said; many bucks have already shed their horns, making it difficult to distinguish them from does.
She also pointed to snowmobilers’ need to work on their trials.
Despite the concerns, with not enough supervisors to vote, there will be a Holiday Hunt.