Posts Tagged ‘hunting’

Monday, January 22, 2018

Blood In The Snow Leads To Warren County Charges

ECOs Nicols and Brassard with the buck and crossbowAccording to a press announcement sent by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. On the night of Jan. 8, Environmental Conservation Officer Alan Brassard received a call from New York State Trooper Bryan McCormack who was at a complaint in the town of Chester with Warren County Deputy Adam Hurlburt. According to DEC, the Warren County Sheriff’s Department had received a complaint from a couple that had found a dead buck in their backyard. » Continue Reading.


Sunday, December 31, 2017

Facebook Post Leads To Hunting Violations

ECOs Brassard and Gerrain with an illegally taken deer

According to New York State Environmental Conservation Officers, in November ECO Lou Gerrain received a complaint that an individual in the town of Queensbury had posted pictures on Facebook of two deer he had shot a few days apart in the northern zone.

DEC provided the following statement to the press: » Continue Reading.


Monday, December 11, 2017

Early Adirondack Hunting: More Deer, Less Bear Killed So Far

Hunters have been more successful at killing deer around New York State, but less successful at hunting bear in the Northern Region through the first several weeks of big game seasons in 2017 than last year, according to Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).

DEC says that early reports from New York hunters through Dec. 3, show approximately 18 percent more deer were killed in the Northern Zone and 14 percent more deer in the Southern Zone compared to the same period in 2016.

» Continue Reading.


Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Forest Ranger Report: Lost Hikers, Hunters

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers respond to search and rescue incidents in the Adirondacks. Working with other state agencies, local emergency response organizations and volunteer search and rescue groups, Forest Rangers locate and extract lost, injured or distressed people from the Adirondack backcountry.

What follows is a report, prepared by DEC, of recent missions carried out by Forest Rangers in the Adirondacks. » Continue Reading.


Sunday, November 26, 2017

Rap Shaw Club’s 1925 Hunting Accident

rap shaw club club houseIn early October of 1925 about a dozen members and guests of the Rap-Shaw Club, hailing from Buffalo, Rochester and Elmira – plus an unlucky guest from Hartford, CT named William C. Roach – gathered at their Beaverdam Pond camp for deer hunting.

The camp was located deep in the forest about six miles north of the Beaver River along the western edge of Nehasane Preserve. Since 1917 the club had rented ten acres on the pond from the Webb family. They had a spacious clubhouse, four cabins and a number of outbuildings.

Every year since the club was founded back in 1896 deer hunting was under the direction of a local guide named Jimmy Wilder. He was a young man when he was first hired as a guide for Rap-Shaw Club. Now he was a 55-year-old experienced woodsman. The members of the Club liked the hard working but soft spoken Wilder. He was short, strong, and ordinary looking. Most importantly, he knew the Beaver River country so well he could walk the woods on a moonless night without a light. » Continue Reading.


Thursday, October 26, 2017

Bird Band Reporting Moves Online

duckWaterfowl hunters who find bands on harvested game birds or have recovered a band are now asked to report it online to the National Bird Banding Laboratory. The toll-free 1-800-327-BAND system was discontinued in June of 2017. » Continue Reading.


Thursday, September 7, 2017

Early Adirondack Bear Hunting Seasons Start Soon

black bearEarly bear hunting seasons are about to begin across New York State. Hunting is generally permitted on Forest Preserve land in the Adirondack Park. Hunting accidents are rare, but hikers should wear bright colors and keep pets leashed as a precaution.

During the Early Bear Season, hunters may use a bow (with appropriate bowhunting eligibility), crossbow, muzzleloader, handgun, shotgun, or rifle (where allowed).  Because of the likelihood of warm weather, DEC is telling hunters they should be prepared to skin and cool dead bears as soon as possible to protect the quality of the meat. DEC suggests hunters skin and quarter the bear in the field, then pack out the meat in game bags to a waiting cooler of ice. » Continue Reading.


Monday, August 28, 2017

Adirondack Loons Were Once Hunted

The common loon is referred to by the state Department of Environmental Conservation as the “spirit of the northern waters.” Here in the Adirondacks, you can find images of loons seemingly everywhere, from T-shirts to coffee mugs to throw pillows.

The birds are revered as the spirit of the wilderness. But there was a time when they were hunted. » Continue Reading.


Tuesday, June 6, 2017

Legislation Pending To Eliminate Hunters’ Back Tags

New York State Hunting Back TagLegislation is pending to eliminate of the regulation that requires the display of back tags while hunting. According to a press release issued by the New York State Conservation Council, back tags are no longer required in any other state. Even in New York, back tags are not required to be worn while hunting in the Northern Zone and the Catskill Park, which comprise almost 50% of New York’s land area.

Both bow and gun hunters find back tags to be noisy when moving through the woods according to the Conservation Council.  They also require hunters to poke holes in expensive (and formerly waterproof) hunting clothes as the tag is moved from garment to garment as weather changes necessitate de-layering. » Continue Reading.


Saturday, May 27, 2017

DEC Announces 2016 Deer Hunting Estimates

The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced that hunters in New York State killed an estimated 213,061 deer during the 2016-17 hunting seasons, an estimated five percent increase over 2015-16 levels.

The 2016 deer take included 106,055 antlerless deer and 107,006 antlered bucks. According to DEC, this represents a 7.5-percent increase in bucks killed from 2015 statewide, reflecting modest population growth following the losses experienced during the harsh winter of 2014-15. Antlerless harvest was similar to 2015 (a 2.6-percent increase), as managers sought increased antlerless harvests in certain parts of the state and reduced harvests in others. » Continue Reading.


Thursday, April 27, 2017

New Features for DEC Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife App

Fish and Wildlife mobile appThe New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced they have added a new tool to the official New York Fishing, Hunting & Wildlife App that provides sports license holders a simple, user friendly way to report game harvests with smartphones and mobile devices while afield.

The Fish and Wildlife mobile app, created by ParksbyNature Network, is available free of charge and provides users with fish and wildlife news, detailed hunting and fishing season information, species information, weather alerts, social media connections, GPS mapping capabilities, and more. » Continue Reading.


Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Spring Turkey Season Starts May 1, Youth Hunt Apr 22-23

thomas houghton turkeySpring turkey season opens on May 1 in upstate New York north of the Bronx-Westchester County line. DEC’s annual youth turkey hunting weekend is scheduled for April 22 and 23.

The youth turkey hunt for junior hunters ages 12-15 is open in all of upstate New York and Suffolk County. DEC encourages experienced hunters to take a novice hunter afield this spring, whether the novice is a young person or an adult getting into the sport for the first time.

DEC reports that the turkey population experienced reproductive success in the summer of 2015, and combined with relatively mild winters in 2015-16 and 2016-17, it is anticipated that the spring harvest will be up from last year and above the five-year average (about 20,000 birds). The estimated turkey harvest for spring 2016 was 18,400 birds, and nearly 6,000 junior hunters harvested an estimated 1,300 birds during the two-day youth hunt in 2016. » Continue Reading.


Tuesday, April 11, 2017

DEC Changing Wildlife Habitat Management Documents

DEC has released a Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS), which will update the current “Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) on Habitat Management Activities of the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Division of Fish and Wildlife.”

The draft SEIS describes and evaluates habitat management methods used on nearly 234,000 acres of state land – mostly Wildlife Management Areas managed for wildlife production and for recreation. The PEIS has not been updated since it was adopted in 1979, according to DEC’s press announcement. » Continue Reading.


Wednesday, March 22, 2017

DEC: 2016 Was Safest Year On Record for Hunters

The State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced that the 2016 hunting season in New York had only 13 hunting-related shooting incidents, the lowest number on record since DEC began compiling hunting-related shooting statistics in 1958.

Of the 13 hunting-related shooting incidents in 2016, seven incidents were self-inflicted and six incidents involved more than one person. In 2015, there were 23 incidents. In 1966, there were 166 incidents, 13 of which were fatal. » Continue Reading.


Saturday, February 25, 2017

DEC Announces 2016 Bear Hunting Results

The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced that bear hunters in New York State killed 1,539 black bears during the 2016 hunting seasons.

Hunters took a total of 1,025 black bears in the Southern Zone, about 10 percent fewer than in 2015, but slightly more than the recent five-year average. Nearly equal numbers of bears were killed during the bow season, 379 bears, and regular season, 398 bears. The early season, which occurs only in a handful of management units in the Catskill region, yielded 228 bears. » Continue Reading.



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