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DEC Announces Start of Small Game Hunting Seasons Across
New York State
Published: September 25, 2025
at 01:00 p.m.
By: Press Release
from NYS DEC
DEC Announces Start of Small Game Hunting Across New
York State
The New York
State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announces that small
game hunting and furbearer trapping seasons for the 2025–26 license year
are now open or will open soon across New York. Most small game and
furbearer seasons open between Sept. 1 and Nov. 1, depending on species and
zone. Full season dates, bag limits, and regulations are published in
the 2025–26 Hunting & Trapping Regulations Guide (PDF).
“Fall is when many new hunters go afield for the first time, and when
experienced hunters rediscover New York’s outdoors,” Director of
DEC’s Division of Fish and Wildlife Jacqueline Lendrum said. “These
seasons support long-standing conservation programs, which sustain abundant
upland game, waterfowl, and furbearer populations, and provide safe,
accessible ways to introduce the next generation to hunting. Before heading
afield, please review the annual regulations on DEC’s website as there are
several exciting and important changes this coming hunting season.”
Waterfowl Hunting and Special Youth & Military Days
New York offers a wide variety of waterfowl hunting opportunities across
five waterfowl zones and nine Canada goose subzones to reflect the state’s
diverse habitats. DEC also designates Youth Waterfowl Days (for junior
hunters ages 12–15) and special days for active military and veterans in
many zones to provide lower-pressure hunting opportunities and mentoring
experiences.
For 2025, the designated Youth Waterfowl Days for most upstate zones are
Sept. 27–28, 2025, and Long Island’s youth hunt is scheduled for Nov. 8–9,
2025. Veteran and active military waterfowl days generally mirror those
youth days in several zones. Opening dates for regular duck seasons vary by
zone; hunters should consult the 2025–26 Hunting and Trapping Regulations
Guide and DEC’s migratory game bird seasons page for full details.
Ruffed Grouse Hunting
Ruffed grouse season for 2025–26 runs Sept. 20, 2025 – Feb. 28, 2026, in
the Northern Zone and Oct. 1, 2025 – Feb. 28, 2026, in the Southern Zone
north of New York City/Long Island. Hunters in northern Wildlife Management
Units (specifically WMUs 5C, 5F, 6F, 6J) must take care to avoid mistakenly
harvesting spruce grouse, a State-endangered species found in Adirondack
lowland conifer forests.
DEC also
encourages hunters to participate in the Grouse Hunting Log and submit feathers from
harvested birds to help biologists monitor grouse populations and annual
productivity. To see the results of this survey, please visit the Ruffed Grouse Dashboard.
Pheasant Hunting
The DEC pheasant propagation program supplies more than 50,000 adult
pheasants to supplement upland game bird hunting across the state and is an
important hunter recruitment, reactivation, and retention tool.
Regular pheasant season begins Oct. 1, 2025, in Eastern New York. The
youth-only pheasant hunt weekends are scheduled for the following dates:
Sept. 27–28 (Northern and Eastern New York), Oct. 11–12 (Western New York),
and Oct. 25–26 (Long Island).
All release sites for pheasants provided through the DEC pheasant
propagation program are open to public hunting. An interactive map and complete list of release sites are available
on DEC’s website.
Additionally, DEC
helps promote and facilitate mentored hunts around New York State through
the HuntFishNY Event page. The HuntFishNY Event page helps prospective hunters find
and register for upcoming mentored hunting and fishing events. HuntFishNY Events is a one-stop resource for events
offered by DEC and a network of partners and instructors. Events are
hands-on and designed to teach the basics about hunting, wildlife, and
other outdoor skills. You can find sponsored pheasant hunts, mentored hunts,
target shoots, hunting seminars, and more. Events are designed for all
ability levels. Check back if you don’t see events in your area, as new
events are added weekly.
Squirrel, Rabbit, and Hare
Opportunities to pursue squirrels and rabbits are available statewide on
many public lands. For 2025–26:
- Gray, black, and fox squirrel: Sept. 1, 2025
– Feb. 28, 2026 (Long Island and New York City: Nov. 1 – Feb. 28)
- Cottontail rabbit: Begin Oct. 1 in Upstate
New York and on Nov. 1 in New York City/Long Island.
- Snowshoe hare: Oct. 1, 2025 – March 15, 2026 in the Northern Zone (later start in some
Southern Zone WMUs)
Please see the Small Game Seasons page for more information
on bag limits, hunting hours, and a map of zones.
Wild Turkey
Fall turkey hunting opportunities are improved this year due average to
above-average productivity in the last few summers. The statewide fall bag
limit is one bird of either sex and hunting hours
are sunrise to sunset. Fall 2025 season dates are:
- Northern Zone: Oct. 1–14, 2025
- Southern Zone: Oct. 18–31, 2025
- Long Island (Suffolk/Nassau): Nov. 15–28,
2025
DEC Encourages
Hunter Safety
“We want every
hunter to return home safely,” Director Lendrum added. “Please
follow the basics: treat every firearm as if it’s loaded, be sure of your
target and what lies beyond it, keep your finger off the trigger until
ready to shoot, and wear blaze orange or blaze pink when appropriate. These
simple precautions save lives.”
Hunting in New York remains one of the safest outdoor activities, but
incidents can happen when the basics of hunter safety are forgotten or
ignored. Always follow the rules of firearm safety:
1. Point your gun in a
safe direction.
2. Treat every gun
as if it were loaded.
3. Be sure of your
target and beyond.
4. Keep your finger
off the trigger until ready to shoot.
Blaze orange is
required for hunting deer or bear with a firearm, and DEC strongly
encourages small game hunters to wear blaze orange or pink to reduce the
risk of mistaken identity.
For more information about the 2025–26 hunting seasons, regulations, and maps, visit
DEC’s website or review the 2025–26 Hunting & Trapping Regulations Guide.
Citizen Science
DEC has many opportunities for the public to get involved in wildlife
management. Specifically, DEC encourages hunters to take part in
citizen science programs, including the Grouse & Woodcock Hunting Log, Ruffed Grouse Parts Collection, Furbearer Sighting Log, and Snapshot New York. These efforts help track
population trends and inform wildlife management decisions.
Snapshot NY –
capturing New York’s wildlife, one snapshot at a time
Snapshot NY
is an exciting new citizen science program that allows the public to
participate in wildlife monitoring through the deployment of trail cameras.
The project will improve the way DEC monitors and manages more than a dozen
wildlife species. The program was developed in collaboration with the
Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at Cornell University.
To become a
volunteer for Snapshot NY:
- Access to land: Volunteers are
encouraged to place trail cameras on private property across New York
State. Those without access will need permission to set up a camera on
nearby public land.
- A trail camera: Use your own trail
camera (preferred) or apply to borrow a trail camera through the
Snapshot program.
- Access to internet and a willingness to
upload photos
- Create an account: Volunteers can create an
account on the Snapshot NY website and select one of
the survey blocks to deploy a trail camera.
Learn more and
get involved at Snapshot NY.
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