It is time, to let the new DEC commissioner know how we feel about the lack of deer management in this state! This is a crucial time, as the 5- year Deer Plan is currently being constructed!
Please feel free to copy my letter or write your own but please do something!
Emails are good, but real letters are better!
Email the DEC Commissioner - NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation
http://www.dec.ny.gov/about/407.html
or Write the Commissioner:
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Commissioner Joe Martens
625 Broadway
Albany, NY 12233-1011
Hello Commissioner Martens,
I write to you today to implore you to mandate that antler restrictions be implemented in the upcoming 5-year Deer Plan.
As you know, hunting is an integral part of deer management in this state and every possible management technique that enhances herd health and hunting, will certainly benefit hunter retention and recruitment
For years, deer management in this state has been at a standstill and both the deer and the tradition have suffered from it. It is sad to hear members of your deer team spout rhetoric the likes of, “if deer aren’t dying en masse then we are doing our job”. That type of nonsense is not in the best interests of sportsmen or the deer, as far as I am concerned. We deserve a better mandate than that and so do the deer!
Hunters from all over this state have embraced antler restrictions at great personal sacrifice because we believe that they are the best direction for our deer herd and our tradition to go in. We have demonstrated that a majority of hunters in many areas of the state believe that this is the way to go and yet the DEC has failed to further implement them. Biologists from all over this state and country have refuted the complacent methods that your biologists proffer and have proven them antiquated and banal.
If for no other reason than the pure “good” science of antler restrictions, then perhaps you might consider the billions of dollars spent in this state on deer hunting and hunting by-products and consider how much more money would be spent if the deer hunting was actually good in this state.
Commissioner Martens, the antler restriction pilot projects have been a huge success and need to be expanded. We, the sportsmen of New York are counting on you to plan for our deer herd’s healthy future!
Martin T. Mc Donnell
1/28/11
A STATE OF CONSERVATION CONFUSION
Friends have asked me, "Martin why haven't you written anything on your blog since September?" Well, since my last diatribe about the Department of Environmental Conservation, little or nothing has been reported, because little or nothing has been done! We wait, and wait, and wait and wait some more. It was last Spring that we were teased into believing that the DEC was going to prepare a comprehensive deer management plan for the future. The thought line, was to have the plan in progress when the state administration changed hands, believing that it would not be shelved going forward into the future if it had already begun. So, we waited some more! At the September New York State Conservation Council we were disappointed with the presentation of their overall perspective of deer management, because that synopsis contained no real detail going forward. Still waiting!I am tired of waiting! Hunters/Sportsmen/Conservationists should be outraged bye now. The outdoor writers across this state should be barking at the new governor and his appointed DEC minions to clearly define which direction deer conservation should be moving and those "leftovers" from the last inept team (of the DEC) should be sent packing or further encouraged into retirement. As I have stated several times before, they did NOTHING, but add confusion to the antler restriction equation. On one hand they spewed misinformation about the biological effects of antler restrictions and on the other hand, they begrudgingly recommended and espoused their obvious values on private land. In 2005, they initiated a pilot program in 2 Wildlife Management Units in 2006 2 more, and then when begged for expansion of the plan in other areas they kowtowed to selfish naysaying groups from the western portion of the state that had NOTHING to do with with the groups and areas that desperately needed and requested the antler restriction program; and it has NOT gone forward. In a semi-private discussion (late 2009), DEC Fish Wildlife & Marine Resources Director Patty Riexinger conveyed to myself and one other, that her failure to expand the program was her single largest regret through her tenure.
Over the last several years the NYSCC has added to the mass of antler restriction confusion. The council, who is the sportsmen's voice to conservation authorities, saw several poorly written resolutions proffered before its Big Game Committee. Some of them contained mixed messages with ulterior motives and they were poorly received as they confused those charged with deciphering them. Some of the resolutions were isolationist in nature and the council did not back them. The council concerns themselves with the organized, dues paying sportsmen that are listed on county federation membership rolls and pertinent groups that are registered and accepted by the council. Their membership pays them dues and they are expected to solely represent and posture their interests. There are more sportsmen in this state who are not represented by the council then actually belong or participate. Their opinions have been decisively shown to approve of antler restriction through polls and surveys, but their needs are only expressed through individual writings to the DEC, not as a collaborative group.
Now, I don't represent any sportsmen's group(s) per se, but I believe that if the deer in this state were polled, they would choose me over the NYSDEC & the NYSCC to represent their interests. Not being a recognized representative, I can't proffer a resolution to resolve the antler restriction matter, but I have taken the time to write one that I believe is comprehensive of the problem and surely represents the concerns of the deer, sportsmen and certainly meets the parameters needed for council backing. Hopefully, some group or federation will adopt my resolution, because without the backing of the council I fear the antler restriction issue will be drawn out for many more years to come.
ANTLER RESTRICTION IMPLEMENTATION RESOLUTION
WHEREAS: The NYS DEC recognizes the important role that antler restrictions can play in the overall health of the deer herd, but have neglected to further implement, posture, educate or proffer their importance to the general hunting public.
WHEREAS: A healthier deer herd should be the top priority to both the NYSCC and the NYSDEC.
WHEREAS: Antler restrictions have been proven scientifically to have a direct positive result on breeding patterns; adding age diversity and lessening the causation and effect of Winter mortality to all facets of the herd.
WHEREAS: Organized sportsmen seek to hunt healthier deer herds that include older, larger racked bucks.
WHEREAS: Under the current 3-inch legal antler statute we have been targeting almost every yearling buck for almost 100 years; as a result, we have created an abnormal herd, consisting of primarily older females, young males and a scarcity of adult males.
WHEREAS: Yearling bucks are physically capable of breeding, but they lack the maturity to produce enough hormonal attractants (pheromones) to facilitate a smooth breeding pattern.
WHEREAS: Yearling bucks normally have not attained enough physical status to retain the extra fat reserves needed during Winter months and an extended breeding season; therefore they too are susceptible to immediate Winter mortality.
WHEREAS: Annually, at least 62 % of buck harvests are comprised of yearling deer.
WHEREAS: A substantial number of hunters go outside this state and country to hunt older, healthier, larger bodied racked male deer; culminating in a more intense and satisfying hunting experience.
WHEREAS: Organized and educated sportsmen have shown (by a majority vote) that they understand the need for this antler restriction (at least 3 one inch points on at least one side of it’s rack) for the benefit of the herd and the proliferation of our hunting tradition.
WHEREAS: The implementation of antler restrictions are supported by thousands of organized New York sportsmen including the memberships of:
The Sullivan County Federation of Sportsmen
The Ulster County Federation of Sportsmen
The Greene County Federation of Sportsmen
The Schoharie County Conservation Association
The Suffolk Alliance of Sportsmen
The Nassau County Fish and Game
The Quality Deer Management Association
The NYS Whitetail Management Coalition
BE IT RESOLVED:
That the NYSCC support the implementation of a 3-point antler restriction (on at least one side) in areas of this state, where there is a disproportionate (abnormal) amount of young male deer. The result will benefit the health of the herd and hunting in general.
9/30/10
DEC'S NEW DEER MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR THE FUTURE
Let me explain. The presentation listed the following goals for the 5 year plan:
1) A Population goal.
2) A Hunting and Recreation goal.
3) Conflict and damage goal.
4) Education and Communication goal.
5) A Habitat goal.
6) An Operational goal.
Now, on merit, if you were the average educated citizen of New York State, you might be tempted to say, "okay, it seems like they are focused on the needs of NY conservation and we are heading in the right direction". WRONG!
At the Spring meeting of the NYSCC Director Riexinger assured us (the Big Game Committee) that by this Fall meeting, an extensive deer management plan would be laid out to the council members. The only real thing that is clear with this plan is that the DEC is content to sit back and do nothing! They are going to "paper tiger" deer conservation to death, until they are all eligible for retirement incentive packages.
Anyone who was present at the meeting knows that I was the first to raise my hand and my voice. See, my blood was boiling about this extension of the ruse that we have come to accept as deer conservation in this state. For well over a year, we have been questioned (deer meetings of '09) and surveyed, nearly to death (Cornell HDRU, etc. etc.). This plan, when looked at objectively, is a common sense look at what should have been in effect for the last 100 years! The DEC is mired down in stall tactics fueled by fiscal neglect. It is clearly the same old BS, but now we have less and less to work with! Less money, less personnel, less leadership, and certainly less insightfulness.
The DEC has failed to address the real problems that concern hunters. They just don't comprehend that the main component of attracting more hunters to the tradition is "better deer hunting" and that means bigger racked, healthier deer. They don't seem to comprehend that habitat plus age diversity equals better hunting and better hunting means more license sales. Its just common sense.
While the DEC insists out of one side of their mouth that more education is needed; before antler restrictions can be expanded and out of the other side they proffer that antler restrictions should be voluntarily expanded on private lands. The message becomes quite clear that the DEC speaks with forked tongue. If they truly believed that more education was needed then why is it they don't tell the truth about antler restrictions? In the past, you would hear the DEC biologists spout about how there was NO biological need for antler restrictions, but since world renowned wildlife biologist Dick Henry (one of their own brethren, formerly of the NYSDEC) put to print the true facts about antler restrictions and the role age diversity actually plays in the herd's cycles of life, well I haven't heard or read a peep out of them. The fact of the matter is that as Mr. Henry has tied it all together through scientific fact, it becomes a clear matter of what is best for the resource (the deer) and NOT what is good for the uneducated hunter.
So let's see if I can tie this altogether. The hunting tradition is on a strong decline in this state. The resource is not even close to maximum health. Deer habitat in a substantial portion of the Southern Tier is severely lacking and the state sits back and reverts back to the same old stuff! There is something terribly wrong in the state of New York.
Antler restrictions will insure that a necessary aspect of a deer's life cycle will be healthier. 67% of the DEC surveyed populus wants antler restrictions because they know it is good for the deer and deer hunting. Antler restrictions are not the cure all for what is wrong with our deer population, but they are one of many steps in the right direction.
What is crystal clear here is that the NYSDEC is deficient in their approach to modern deer management! They neither have the direction nor the means to rectify the situation in time to salvage our tradition! Perhaps with the election of a new governor in the coming months we can look forward to getting rid of the dead wood in the upper echelon of our dysfunctional conservation department!
PS - To the members of The NYSCC. I think it would be a step in the right direction if Mr. Dick Henry was invited to speak to the council on the antler restriction issue. He could certainly answer all the scientific/biological questions relative to herd health and the dynamics that will lead to better hunting.
------ Martin T. Mc Donnell
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