Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation

The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) and the Palisades Interstate Park Commission (PIPC) are preparing to implement a deer management program that includes recreational hunting in Harriman State Park, located in Orange and Rockland Counties, NY. Two virtual public information sessions about the management program will be held on Wednesday, August 13 using the online Webex app. The first session will take place from 1:00 - 2:30 pm and the second will take place from 6:00 - 7:30 pm.

At each information session, OPRHP and PIPC staff will share a presentation about deer impacts to the park and the deer management program. Participants will have the opportunity to provide a brief comment at the end of the presentation. Each session will cover the same material.

Harriman State Park suffers from decades of over-browsing by white-tailed deer that has resulted in severely degraded forests, the loss of habitat for other species, and poor nutritional health within the deer population. The goal of management efforts is to manage white-tailed deer populations within the park at a level appropriate to support forest regeneration and resilient natural communities; enhance habitat for forest-dependent wildlife; and provide for safe and enjoyable recreational and educational opportunities. To address deer impacts, a portion of Harriman State Park will be opened to recreational hunting, with restrictions on season length, implements, and the number of permits issued. A lottery system would be used for awarding permits.

Deer hunting is permitted in 65 NY State Parks and Historic Sites statewide, including seven State Parks in the Palisades Region (Harriman State Park west of the NYS Thruway, Highland Lakes State Park, Lake Superior State Park, Minnewaska State Park Preserve, Schunnemunk State Park, Sterling Forest State Park, and Storm King State Park), as well as in seven NY State Parks & Historic Sites in the nearby Taconic Region on the east side of the Hudson River. For more information on hunting, visit www.parks.ny.gov/recreation/hunting/.

Free registration is required to attend the online meeting. To participate, please register online or send an e-mail with your name and the time of the information session you would like to attend to: info@pipc.org no later than 12:00 pm on Tuesday, August 12.

The public meeting is accessible to people with disabilities. Anyone who requires a reasonable accommodation for effective communications should contact Owen Gilbo at Owen.Gilbo@parks.ny.gov or at (518) 402-2648, preferably within fourteen (14) days of the meeting date that the requestor will need such auxiliary aid or service.

OPRHP and PIPC encourage interested parties to attend this meeting. We hope that your schedule will allow you to join. However, if you are unable to join at either meeting time, a recording will be available on the OPRHP website (https://parks.ny.gov/parks/harriman/details.aspx).

We thank you in advance for your interest. If you have any questions regarding the meeting, please email us at: info@pipc.org.