For Release: October 20, 1998

Contact: Lori Suprock 222-1267 or 789-1636

PROVIDENCE - The Department of Environmental Management's Division of Fish and Wildlife has announced that the season for archery deer hunting on Prudence and Patience Islands will be October 30 through December 28, on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays only. Only bucks may be taken from October 30 through November 30; either sex deer may be taken from December 4 through December 28. Hunting hours are one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset.

To hunt these islands, archers must have a current Rhode Island hunting license and a current Prudence/Patience archery deer permit. Archers must also carry on their person a current proficiency card valid two years from date of issuance, and written permission to hunt on private land, countersigned by the chief of police or his island representative.

State land may only be hunted by archers possessing reservations for the first three weekends of the season. Archery hunting is open to all hunters on state land for the rest of the weekends during the season. Archers possessing a valid archery deer permit may also take raccoon and fox (no bag limit for either species) on Prudence Island during legal deer hunting hours.

Prudence Island deer hunting will end when a total of 50 deer have been taken, no more than 20 of which may be antler-less. The quota will include those deer taken from Patience Island, but not those taken during the special season for paraplegic deer hunters.

All deer, whether taken on state or private land, must be tagged immediately and checked with a leg seal attached before leaving the island. Patience Island deer may be checked on Prudence Island, or at a mainland vendor deer check station. To avoid invalidating the deer permit by tagging the deer with an incorrect tag, the Division suggests that hunters with multiple deer permits mark the back of their tag, in waterproof ink, with the permit type. No additional deer permit will be available for Prudence or Patience Islands this year.

"The regulatory change was necessary this year in response to the reduction in the size of the deer herd," Michael Lapisky, DEM Deputy Chief of Wildlife Resources said. "Increased poaching, combined with successive high harvests, was responsible for this season's hunting restrictions."

Archery deer permits for Prudence and Patience Islands may be purchased at hunting license vendors and also on Prudence Island at Canario's General Store, 113 Daniels Avenue. A list of vendor deer check stations and additional hunting information is available in the 1998-99 hunting and trapping abstract available from the Division at 222-3075, or from hunting license vendors.