New York Codes, Rules and Regulations
Title 6 - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION
Chapter I - FISH AND WILDLIFE
Subchapter G - Fish and Wildlife Management Areas and Facilities
Part 51 - Public Use Of State Wildlife Management Areas
Section 51.8 - General provisions

Universal Citation: 6 NY Comp Codes Rules and Regs ยง 51.8

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 12, March 20, 2024

(a) Fires

(1) No person shall ignite or maintain a fire except for cooking or warmth.

(2) No wood, except from dead and down trees, shall be used for fuel.

(3) No person shall ignite a fire until all flammable material surrounding it has been removed to the extent necessary to prevent its spread.

(4) No person shall leave a fire unattended.

(b) No person shall swim in waters subject to this Part.

(c) No person shall possess or operate any motorized equipment while afield without the written permission of the Department except for equipment commonly employed in hunting, trapping, or fishing when being used for these activities. These exceptions are limited to:

1. Drills or augers used for ice fishing.

2. Battery-powered drills used for setting traps.

3. Any motorized decoys legally permitted for hunting.

(d) No person shall deface, remove, cut or willfully damage, destroy or otherwise injure in any manner whatsoever any tree, flower, shrub, fern, moss, fungus or other plant organism, or other living or dead vegetation of any kind, found or growing on State lands, except for immediate personal consumption, or with the written permission of the Regional Manager.

(1) No person shall erect, construct, maintain, occupy or use any tree stand that is used, operated, accessed or reached by methods or means which injure or damage a tree, and no person shall gain access to any structure in a tree by means that injure or damage the tree.

(e) No person shall deface, remove, destroy or otherwise injure in any manner whatsoever any rock, soil, fossil or mineral except under written permit from the Department.

(f) No person shall deface, remove, or damage, destroy or otherwise injure in any manner whatsoever any object of archaeological or paleontological interest found on State land, except under written permit from the Department and the Commissioner of Education, pursuant to section 233 of the Education Law.

1. No person shall use or possess a metal detector afield, except under written permit from the Department. Licensed surveyors using a metal detector to locate survey markers shall not be prohibited.

(g) All personal property shall be removed from the area at the time of leaving the area. No person shall erect, construct, install, maintain, store, discard or abandon any structure or any other property or subsequently use such structure or property, except under the written permission of the Regional Manager. This subdivision shall not apply to:

1. a legally placed trap or appurtenance that is placed and used during the appropriate trapping season;

2. a tree stand or hunting blind that does not injure a tree, is properly marked or tagged with the owner's name and address or valid hunting license identification number and is placed and used for the duration of the big game season, migratory gamebird season or turkey season; or

3. a wildlife viewing blind that is placed for a duration not to exceed ten (10) days in one location per calendar year, does not injure a tree, and is properly marked with the owner's name and address or valid hunting or fishing license identification number.

(h) No person shall enter, remain upon, or use any access road, truck trail, road, trail, facility or any other area that is posted or designated by the Department as closed to public use, except under the written permission of the Regional Manager.

(i) No person shall discard or deposit any trash, waste or litter on lands or waters, except in waste receptacles provided for such purpose.

(j) No person shall use any lands for agricultural purposes, including but not limited to growing crops or grazing by domestic animals, except with the written permission of the Department.

(k) No person under 21 years of age shall possess alcoholic beverages, unless accompanied by a parent or guardian. All persons who possess alcoholic beverages must produce adequate identification and proof of age upon demand of any peace or police officer.

(l) No person shall fail to comply with the instructions contained on a sign of the Department.

(m) No person shall remove, deface, mutilate or destroy any Department sign, structure, barrier or object.

(n) No person shall:

1. intentionally obstruct, prevent or attempt to prevent any officers or employees of the Department from performing their legal duties, by means of intimidation, physical force, interference or disobedience of any lawful order or by means of any independently unlawful act;

2. engage in any activity which violates the Penal Law.

(o) No person shall discharge firearms unless legally engaged in the act of hunting or trapping.

1. Except that target shooting may occur in areas designated and posted by the Department as open to such use, and;

2. No person shall possess or use breakable targets, including but not limited to clay pigeons, and

3. No person shall target shoot at objects other than paper targets with a safe and sufficient earthen or other suitable backstop.

(p) No person shall possess paint balls or paint ball guns, and no person shall sponsor, conduct or participate in any activities associated with the discharging of paint balls.

(q) No person shall sponsor, conduct or participate in any organized event of more than twenty people without the written authorization of the Regional Manager. Examples of organized events include but are not limited to sponsored hikes; archery and fishing tournaments; dog trials or training events; bicycle, horse and orienteering races, runs, races, rides or competitions; encampments; re-enactments. weddings, funerals and other ceremonies.

(r) No person shall sponsor, conduct or participate in any research project except under written permit from the Department. Examples of research include, but are not limited to, population studies, collection of scientific samples, placement of scientific instruments, seismic exploration and archaeological studies. This subdivision shall not apply to observation-only population data collection such as, but not limited to, Audubon's Christmas Bird Count, the USGS Breeding Bird Survey and Cornell Lab of Ornithology's e-Bird database or other studies where animals or specimens are not caught or handled; nor shall it apply to any other research exempted by the Department in writing on a case by case basis.

(s) No person shall sponsor, conduct or participate in: advertising, weddings, funerals, commercial film making activities or film making activities that exclude other public use of the area, and other similar events, except under the written permission of the Regional Manager.

(t) No person shall conduct any business, buy, sell, offer or expose for sale, hire, lease, or vend any article or merchandise of any kind without a written permit from the Department. This subdivision shall not apply to recreational activities undertaken in connection with the services of a licensed outdoor guide, to landscape or wildlife photography (products not offered for sale on-site), or wildlife observation activities that do not otherwise violate any subdivisions in this Part.

Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. New York may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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