In case you haven’t heard, the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) said the Conservation Fund (CF) is running to the tune of a $11M deficit and an across-the-board increase in all hunting, fishing and trapping licenses and fees, both resident and non-resident, is critical to avoid major cuts in fish, wildlife and related programs and personnel from occurring. Some of the proposed fees appear at the end of this column.
The question many of us are asking is how activities that, according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service report, generate over $3B in New York and $250M in State and local taxes be in such dire financial funding straits? Ever so slowly, the answers are beginning to surface, and high-level officials in Albany aren’t going to like hearing them.
As most of us who have observed the birth and grand evolution of the NYSDEC that replaced the once successful NYS Department of Conservation in 1971, it was relatively easy to see that the programs that once fell exclusively under the jurisdiction of the old conservation agency that DEC replaced where being steadily deprioritized while environmental programs became leading characters. Almost from its beginning, many of the DEC’s commissioners and directors were appointed, not necessarily because of their knowledge and expertise, but because their views fell in stride with the current administrations at the time.
As DEC’s Albany offices became increasingly filled with eco-minded officials who cared little or nothing about sportsmen and women’s roles in conservation and natural resources, the programs that were once the very heart of New York’s natural resources conservation became increasingly irreverent to the decisions that guided the department’s natural resource and conservation policies and funding. Never mind that hunting and fishing participants had historically paid their own way via licenses, fees and special taxes. Or that the billions of dollars generated by tourism depended heavily on natural resources, as do the many businesses that rely on tourism.
Just how mismanaged and inept has the DEC become? To determine that, you can’t depend on the smoke-and-mirrors reports that come out of Albany, nor will current DEC employees be able to tell you the absolute truth since they would face retribution from their bosses. This is why morale among the most dedicated DEC professionals—those trying to do the best they can under terrible circumstances—is so low. But thanks to the attrition of recent years, there are many who’ve either retired or left DEC who can now speak freely on what has been and is happening there. Here’s samplings I got from an ex-DEC employees.
“Certain individual DEC managers have hurt the Div. of Fish and Wildlife, and hunting, fishing, and trapping directly, and have never been identified or held accountable. Former Division director, Jerry Barnhart was one of the absolute worst. He did not recognize the need to promote hunting and fishing in New York, and felt resource management was the Division’s priority, despite the fact that license dollars supported his budget. This is a typical brainless mindset of public employees who do not have a dollar invested and have never managed their own business.
“Under Barnhart, Bob Lange was Great Lakes section head. At this time, I was active on the Lake Ontario Sportfishing Promotion Council. Lange routinely came to meetings and gave a report, answered questions, etc. I will never forget one of the meetings where a LOSPC member asked Lange if DEC would do more promotion of Lake Ontario fishing by attending more sport shows, updating "I Love NY" brochures, etc., etc., an obvious question for a council member. Lange's reply, ‘We (the Div.) are not a public relations office and our mission is not to promote fishing. Our mission is to manage natural resources!’"
“Oh, really! Well, guess what? At the very next LOSPC meeting, Bob Lange got up and asked for LOSPC’s support of a proposed license fee increase. This was the attitude of the Division under Barnhart, and under Barnhart's mindless direction, fishing license sales plummeted in NYS. Where the heck are these people's brains? More importantly, where the heck was the NYS Conservation Council. How much do you suppose the state lost just in state tax revenues from a 40 percent drop in fishing license sales since 1991 under Barnhart's direction, a word I use loosely.
“On Barnhart's departure, this immediately changed as much as the budget would allow with the creation of fishing promotion specialist positions, etc., and reemphasis on promotion of fishing. A day late and many dollars short, though. Sportsfolks should have been screaming.”
Another ex-DECer said, “I guess it's standard operating procedure for a state bureaucracy to do something the wrong way, then deep six it because it 'isn't working.' (Rather) Let’s get behind a mandatory (habitat-access) stamp for residents and non-residents and get some real money that can be spent on significant projects on the ground.”
If approved, the cost of a Conservation Legacy license will increase from $76 to $96; Super Sportsman, $68 - $88; Sportsman, $37-$47; Senior Sportsman, $5- $10; Small/Big Game, $19-$29. Fishing, $19-$29; Senior Fishing $5 (no change); Fishing (blind) $0-$5 (qualifies for federal revenues); DMP $5 with sportsman application fee, $10 without; Military/ Disabled $5. Bowhunting, $16-$21; Junior Bowhunting $9; Senior Bowhunting, $0; Muzzleloader, $16- $21; Senior Muzzleloader, $0; Small Game, $16-$26; Junior Small Game, $5; Turkey permit $5-$10; Trapping, $16-$21; Senior Trapping, $0-$5, Junior Trapping $6; Seven-day fishing, $12-$15. Lifetime licenses and non-resident sporting licenses will also be going up, including a $25 one-day non-resident fishing license, which many charter captains and fishing guides feel will discourage a lot of potential out-of-state customers.
Stay tuned as there is a line of ex-DEC employees waiting to “spill the beans.”