NEW YORK STATE OUTDOOR WRITERS ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES WRITING, PHOTO AWARDS

Webster, N.Y.—Professional communicators from across New York State, ranging from veteran pros to a high-school student, took honors in the annual Excellence in Craft Writing Awards and the Janice M. Keesler Memorial Photo Competition, announced at the annual conference of the New York State Outdoor Writers Association (NYSOWA), held in Webster, N.Y.
Panels of judges from outside the organization scored the entries, which were presented to the judges anonymously.
“The judges of the writing competition ranged from a teacher to a writer to an avid reader,” said Leon Archer of Fulton, N.Y., who chaired the Excellence in Craft Competition Committee. “Despite the different disciplines they represented, their scores for the winners were quite consistent.”
The cream, it seems, rose to the top. Perhaps the most surprising winner was Richard Demarte of White Plains, N.Y. His article, “Giving Back: Investing in the present and the future,” in Nor’east Saltwater Magazine, July 2009,” took first place in the Magazine Feature category. The surprise is in the fact that Demarte is a student at White Plains High School.
Other first place prize winners in the writing competition were Angelo Peluso of Port Jefferson, N.Y., for his Magazine Column, “The Salmon of Knowledge,” in Fish Alaska Magazine; Glenn Sapir of Putnam Valley, N.Y., for his Newspaper Column, “Big Game Hunt in Newfoundland Yields a Wiser Perspective,” in The Journal News; Mike Lynch of Saranac, N.Y., for his Newspaper Feature, “Fran, the White House Is on the Phone,” in the Adirondack Daily Enterprise; and Leo Maloney of Sherrill, N.Y., for his Online Entry, “Lessons Learned on a Small Trout Stream,” at Fish NY.com.
Three highly respected New York photographers from outside NYSOWA judged anonymously presented photographs in five categories. Two members shone as first-place winners in two categories. Dan Ladd of West Fort Ann, N.Y., finished on top in the Hunting & Fishing and Outdoor Recreation categories; Zeno Hromin of Westbury, N.Y., took first in both the Outdoor Scenic and Published Photography categories. Leo Maloney of Sherrill, N.Y., took first place in the Wildlife category.
First-place winners in both competitions received handsome duck decoy awards. Second- and third-place finishers received cash awards.

Doves ARE Migratory Game Birds, Even in NYS

By Bob McNitt

Generally speaking, small game hunting season doesn’t seem to generate the interest it once did. Maybe it’s because the once abundant pheasant hunting we enjoyed has nearly disappeared, except for stocked birds, most of them being released by DEC in limited acreage public land areas. Or perhaps it’s because of the steady downturn of ruffed grouse densities and the habitat that once supported them in huntable numbers.
With several small game seasons due to open soon, probably the Oct. 1 opening of the fall turkey season will attract the most interest. While grouse and cottontail rabbit also open on that same date, the odds of those attracting a large following has gone down with each passing season. Oh, there’ll be a few avid upland hunters who’ll pursue them, but nothing like the bygone days of abundance in those two game species plus pheasants.
Another factor might be decreased access to private habitat that may or may not hold a relative abundance of small game like grouse and rabbit. Much of our state forest lands open to public hunting have seen small game densities drop due to poor and deteriorating habitat in recent decades. What little low-growth habitat that emerges is normally consumed by deer as browse. Basically, deer and, in the case of springtime hunting, wild turkeys have become the overwhelming draws for area hunters. These two species are also the favorites of the DEC since neither requires extensive physical management or major habitat improvement.
So what’s left? Gray squirrel, sometimes woodcock, cottontails in winter, geese in September, and predator species. If small game hunting is to survive for future generations to enjoy, things need to change. But how? For years, several avid sportsmen and groups have lobbied to have mourning doves reclassified in New York State as migratory gamebirds, a classification they get in at least 39 other states. Why consider reclassifying doves a migratory gamebird? Even Cornell lists them as such. First is, just like other migratory birds – waterfowl, woodcock, even crows – they benefit from both federal and state management and funding.
With upland gamebird populations dwindling in our state, offering a September dove hunting season would help fill a need without endangering or reducing overall dove populations. Usually September weather is quite pleasant, which would entice more hunters, especially young ones, to discover the joys of hunting, the outdoors, and harvesting their own food – something few youths could do today.
The biggest block to reclassifying doves in New York is akin to perceptions by some to overprotect suburban deer. Because their numbers are so high, droves of doves show up at winter bird feeders once they’ve depleted the natural and agricultural foods that have been available to them previously, a parallel to the overabundant deer that move to suburbs and rural residences to feed when other food supplies dwindle. We have deer hunting as much for species management as for the meat resource they represent. Without sufficient hunting/management, they can decimate habitat that supports both them and other species. Just look at what occurred in state forests such as Beaver Meadow
The mourning dove is one of the most abundant birds in the United States, with an estimated fall population of 500 million birds. For example, the Minnesota population is estimated at 12 million doves, which is three times the fall duck flight through the state. I suspect New York enjoys similar numbers.
Mourning doves are prolific breeders, raising between four to ten young doves per year. The natural mortality rate is high; approximately six out of ten doves do not survive from one year to the next. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has studied and regulated mourning doves for 40 years, and data has shown that a hunting season on them has virtually no impact on their population, in fact it probably benefits them as a prolific species.
Before anyone visualizes how easy it would be to harvest doves at winter bird feeders, let’s explode that daydream. Dove hunting season is an early autumn activity—usually September—and is done near grain fields or other food fields the doves feed in. Hunting is done from stand locations where incoming or outgoing birds may fly by. If you’ve ever watched a dove fly by overhead, imagine trying to hit one with a light shotgun load. It’s akin to bringing down a flying bumblebee with a BB gun.
Some might wonder why hunters would hunt doves, since they’re such small gamebirds. We hunt squirrel, woodcock and teal, all of which are relatively small. And commercially we buy and consume Cornish hen, frog legs, shrimp and smelt. And considering how difficult a rocketing airborne dove is to hit, hunters don’t expect a bounty but rather a tasty supplement for the table.
But, all this aside, if upland hunting--and the money and benefits it produces in New York--is to survive in the future, the time to consider reclassifying doves as migratory gamebirds, which they are, and having an early hunting season for them is one option that really needs serious consideration. You can bet you’ll still see plenty of doves at your bird feeder in winter. All the many states that allow hunting them have proven that.

Wildlife adapts to change, most people don't

By Bob McNitt

If you've been watching the local Central New York news lately, you may have seen segments on coyotes roaming around residential suburban areas. Most recently there have been several reports on the large predator-scavenger canids that are starting to call the DeWitt suburbs home, in the process worrying some about safety issues of having wild animals that size so close to human residences.

I found the reports somewhat ironic since last week's column discussed these and other issues caused by development displacing natural habitat. Reports of wildlife moving into suburban and cluster developed residential areas have been steadily increasing during the past couple of decades. Initially it was primarily deer, but since has seen an increase in other species such as the coyote and more recently black bear.

I fear far too many people today seem to believe that there's a distinctively visible line that separates landscaped developed areas and natural habitat, and that wildlife stays on “its side” of that line. Most farmers learned early on that their crops were a calling card for wildlife and basically accepted that a portion would be annually lost to the opportunistic critters that consumed it. While the herbivores munched on grain and other domestic flora, the predator species often sought out fowl or small livestock such as sheep. Fruit orchards are popular with deer, sheep flocks are popular with coyotes, and free-roaming poultry is a hit with raptor and owl species and smaller predators.

I'm pointing these out since regardless of whether you run a farm or other agricultural endeavor, or simply choose to construct or move to the more rural areas beyond the larger cities limits, the chances are very good that a portion of your new neighbors will be of the furred or feathered kind. And you can bet they'll come visiting, sooner or later.

The steady increase in wildlife in and around these suburban residential areas is somewhat comparable to what we see happen when we put out bird feeders. It doesn't take long for the birds to adapt to the readily available food we offer them, and they keep returning on a regular basis, in the process becoming increasingly less fearful and more tolerant of our presence. Now let's substitute edible shrubbery, bushes, flowers and vegetables for the bird seed …. here come the cottontail rabbits and deer, reacting basically the same as our feathered friends did.

In the case of coyotes, it's just as natural, maybe more so since they are primarily scavengers as well as predators. Residential areas offer them a virtual smorgasbord of food possibilities, from pet food or garbage left outside, to mice, voles and rabbits that often are attracted to the landscaped habitat. Small pets such as cats and the more petite breeds of dogs are also fair game for the coyotes. And like the birds that come to your feeders, they gradually begin to adapt to human presence and that may cause them to become bolder and less fearful of humans, which is probably the case in DeWitt and other problematic areas.

What I'm seeing in recent years is that many species of wildlife are adapting to our changing of the natural habitat, but unfortunately many people aren't adapting to that change in wildlife habits. Stop and consider what happens when you remove all your bird feeders. Without the seed to draw and hold them in your area, the birds disperse to seek food elsewhere.

This same principle applies to other wildlife species – remove the food that attracts them and they'll look elsewhere. The problem in the suburban areas is that too few residents are willing to adopt this approach so the wildlife will continue to prowl the entire neighborhood as long as some food potentials remain. And since the availability of natural habitat food has been substantially decreased due to area displacement, the wildlife will usually continue to seek out residential areas for food.

How quickly wildlife adapts to change is evident to many of us who hunt deer. Prior to the 1970s antlerless deer could only be hunted one day per year – commonly called “doe day” which fell on the last day of the deer hunting season. During the rest of the hunting season, only antlered bucks were legal game. Then in the '60s, the DEC opted to go with group permits which allowed hunters to take a doe or antlerless deer anytime during the open season. Today the permits allow one hunter to take one antlerless deer in addition to an antlered buck.

Prior to the discontinuance of the “doe day,” does were so unaccustomed to being hunted they'd almost walk right up to a hunter. But in just a few years of being hunted throughout the season, they became fully as wary and “hunter-shy” as the bucks. The does adapted and so too have the hunters who once looked down their nose at how “easy” taking a doe could be. Now, if more of the residents complaining about wildlife problems on their property would adapt accordingly, the DEC wouldn't be getting all those calls to “do something” to stop it.

Thoughts on a Saltwater Fishing License

If the federal government has its way, it will make it mandatory for NY saltwater anglers to purchase a fishing license, and the funds generated will go to the federal coffers and not NYS's. The reason being that NYSDEC doesn't require a sporting license to fish in salt water. That situation is being considered in the proposal to implement a regulation requiring ALL anglers, both fresh water and salt water, to purchase a fishing license so the funds generated would stay in NYS.

Anglers fishing in NY's fresh waters have been required to be licensed for many decades, with the money generated going to the Conservation Fund to fund fisheries management programs and enforcement. The question arises ... why should anglers fishing in fresh waters foot the bill for salt water anglers who basically have been getting a lifetime free ride? At least if a NYS license is required to fish either fresh or salt water, the money generated would remain here and could be used to improve and manage all fishing endeavors and programs.

Vote in Poll

The Economics
of Hunting

Total U.S. retail spending annually

by hunters: NEARLY $25 BILLION
$60,000,000/Yr. in New York For Pheasant Hunting Alone
and the Governor and NYSDEC want to
axe our entire pheasant program?

Read the full report

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