Greenport deer hunting permit lottery opens Aug. 1
The Greenport Board of Trustees approved a resolution allowing the village to conduct a lottery to award at most 15 deer hunting permits during its July 24 regular meeting.
The permits would allow for hunting, by bow and arrow only, in designated zones within Moore’s Woods. Community members can apply for the permits from Aug. 1 to Sept. 30. Applications can be submitted at Village Hall, at 236 Third St.
“There was an increase last year, but we’re keeping it consistent this year,” village clerk Candace Hall said about the number of permits. “In the past, only one permit was issued per zone and, this way, it’s first-come, first-served, so still one person in there at a time, but it’s not restricted to that one person. I got a lot of feedback last year that it was kind of prohibitive for people who want to hunt to just have one person per zone.”
Hunting season begins Oct. 1 and runs through Jan. 31, 2026.
As of last year, Southold Town said that, since its start in 2008, the program has resulted in the harvesting of 4,313 deer. The goal of the program is to restore balance and sustainability to the white-tailed deer population in the area. Increased amounts of deer can result in landscaping damage, crop losses, a potential increase in Lyme disease and many more collisions with vehicles.
October through December is when the most deer-car collisions occur, and about 65,000 happen across New York State annually. Suffolk County last year, according to AAA, ranked third out of 62 counties across the state for most collisions with animals.
