WMU 9C, New York

Flat to gently rolling glacially-formed suburban and urban landscape in the eastern Lake Erie plain. Cover consists primarily of residential neighborhoods, suburban woodlots, creek corridors (Buffalo Creek, Cayuga Creek, Cazenovia Creek), and isolated agricultural edges at the unit periphery. Mature hardwood fragments — oak, maple, beech — persist in greenway corridors and suburban parks. Minimal contiguous wild habitat; deer use residential backyards, creek buffers, and woodlot edges extensively.

low — unit is largely closed to firearms big game; any hunting occurs on limited private parcels via archery only

WMU 9C is NOT among the 23 unlimited DMP units for 2026. DMPs are subject to quota allocation; hunters must apply by October 1. No Holiday Deer Hunt is authorized in WMU 9C. No September antlerless season has been established for this unit. Antlerless harvest opportunities are extremely limited given the near-closure status of the unit to hunting.

DEER: WMU 9C is closed to firearms deer hunting. Archery-only access may be available on private land meeting acreage minimums with landowner endorsement; Southern Zone archery season runs Oct 1 - Nov 20 and Dec 14 - Jan 1. Regular firearms season (Nov 21 - Dec 13) and muzzleloader seasons are not applicable to WMU 9C under the closed-area designation. No DMP quota expansion or September antlerless season as of 2026. BEAR: No bear hunting — WMU 9C is closed to bear hunting; no established bear season for this unit. TURKEY: Spring turkey hunting is part of the Southern Zone (May 1 - May 31 regular season, youth weekend late April); Erie County is within the Southern turkey zone. Access is limited to qualifying private land parcels. No large DEC-managed turkey hunting areas exist within the unit. Fall turkey season follows Southern Zone rules. FIREARM RESTRICTIONS: The unit is closed to firearms deer and bear hunting due to urban safety zone density. Archery (including crossbow) is the only legal deer hunting implement where hunting is permitted at all.

WMU 9C is one of New York's urban closed WMUs surrounding Buffalo — deer are present and often abundant in suburban settings but regulated hunting access is nearly nonexistent. The unit is referenced primarily in regulations as an exclusion zone (no Holiday Hunt, no expanded seasons). Hunters in this region should look to neighboring WMUs 9F, 9G, 9H, or 9K for actual hunting opportunity.