The Department of Environmental Conservation – and the old NYS Conservation Department that preceded it – has historically depended on the state’s license-buying sportsmen and women to aid in the management of New York’s wildlife. Both agencies also largely depended on the dollars annually generated by sportsmen to fund their division bureau’s budgets. All this may be changing now.
Faced with a radically changing demographic picture, coupled with a rapidly aging licensed sportsmen force, the DEC’s efforts to “manage” is becoming less effective with each passing year. The older sportsmen’s declining numbers are not being replaced by younger ones, and license sales, which saw their prices increased this year, are dropping at an alarming rate. Added together, these spell major problems, for us and wildlife.
While deer are usually the focal point of wildlife management, because of the damage they can do when too plentiful, the bigger picture reflects an across-the-board challenge for managing many wildlife species in the state, both game and non-game species alike. Keep in mind that the habitat and ecosystem variety we have today is a far cry from what your grandparents experienced.
Just the habitat alone has undergone huge changes, from small farms to mega-farms, and from small checkerboard fields and pastures to expanding dense growth and emerging forestlands. And these have created major changes in the species most adapted to prospering in such habitat conditions. Such species as black bear, coyote, grey fox and wild turkey prosper where once red fox, cottontail rabbit, pheasant and ruffed grouse flourished. A decline of trapping and furbearer hunting allows skunk, raccoon, opossum and coyote to expand their populations and range.
By necessity, the DEC’s primary focus is on those species that generate the most hunters and dollars, meaning deer and wild turkey. Other than grey squirrel, small game opportunities have dipped to such low levels that increasingly fewer are opting to hunt them. And as the deer and turkey hunting force continues to decline, what’s left?
The habitat preference of many wildlife species, combined with the manmade changes that have occurred, also represent a major hurtle since the most problematic depredation areas are most often centered near higher populated areas, such as suburbs and large residential and commercial cluster developments. Attitude changes toward hunting that have developed as the state’s demographics changed sees some residents complaining about the damages wildlife does but still resisting hunting, trapping or other conservation measures being done.
Some of us who’ve been closely involved with conservation and wildlife management for years could foresee the problems that were coming for both these programs as it appeared the terms “environmental” and “conservation” were becoming interchangeable in many people’s minds, including those of many of our state officials. Another term often misunderstood or misused is “preservation.” When an environment is preserved, it will naturally still go through major changes, as it has for eons, and many of these will appear disagreeable to those who expected nothing to change. A natural ecosystem just doesn’t work that way, and never has.
The Adirondack, Catskill and Allegany Parks are considered preserves but in reality are areas that were conserved to allow them to go through their natural ecosystem cycles. And in doing so, we can see the changes that have occurred, and not all of them have been pleasant or agreeable to those who may have expected them to become a sort of Shangri-La . Bowing to the whims of seasonal visitors, our politicians have greatly influenced the DEC’s ability to manage these ecosystems for true natural diversity. Other than maintaining trails for visitors to hike, ski or snowmobile on, the majority of the habitat offers little for wildlife diversity.
Even our state forestlands have suffered a similar fate as public perceptions and dwindling DEC budgets have prevented diversity conservation and habitat measures to be implemented, and these forests continue to evolve into the climax growth stage, which is of little value to most wildlife species. If you’re seeking a true diversity of wildlife, look to those areas nearer where the residences and cultivated or developed habitats exist.
So what’s the answer? To my way of thinking, drastic situations require sound but equally drastic measures. With their current outdated management approaches, no longer can the DEC and State depend solely on the status quo that is rapidly becoming outdated and ineffective in reversing recent trends. After all, they’ve tried many things, including longer hunting and trapping seasons, more special-use seasons, more liberal limits and special youth days. But the downward spiral continues.
First would be better educational attempts that highlight conservation and not just environmental issues. Our state is no longer one with primarily a rural firsthand mentality. The majority of urbanites (as well as many suburbanites) of all ages just don’t understand the real workings of nature. Their views and votes are what often result in incorrect policies and regulations being implemented that accomplish little or nothing.
Next would be to determine how to stop the decline in the sportsmen numbers. Without them, most conservation programs become hamstrung. Think outside the decades old box – legalize crossbows for archery hunting to attract younger hunters and small frame women and give aging bowhunters an incentive not to quit hunting. I can relate to this as, for the first time in nearly four decades, I may not bow hunt due to a bout with tendonitis in my shoulder. Also, install a September dove season to allow youths to be introduced to the enjoyment of hunting and being outdoors in nice weather. By the way, doves are the number one game bird in the nation and are also the most plentiful by a huge margin.
If we do nothing and continue in the same vein that we have for the last 40 years, things will only get worse. Change is inevitable, but failing to react positively will bring inevitable results …and they won’t be pretty.