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Protecting Our Fish and Wildlife

COUNTERPOINT: A view from a reader

Tom Yager
Posted 5/10/21

To the editor:

Thank you, Ed VanPut, for your letter of concern over the recent regulation regarding the abuse of trout during their spawning season. It is absolutely ridiculous as you and all …

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Protecting Our Fish and Wildlife

COUNTERPOINT: A view from a reader

Posted

To the editor:

Thank you, Ed VanPut, for your letter of concern over the recent regulation regarding the abuse of trout during their spawning season. It is absolutely ridiculous as you and all good sportsmen know. Our white tail deer are also suffering abuse by the same people who don't know how to manage fish and game.

The recent legislation of adding a “Holiday Hunt” for seven more days of big game season is the “tip of the iceberg”. What are you people in the D.E.C. trying to do, eliminate the white tail deer herd? I am eighty-three years old and have been hunting, fishing, and trapping since I was seven years old, accompanying my dad during those early years learning the “do's” and “don'ts” of these sports. Small game in the southern Catskills has suffered greatly with the arrival of the coyote and the stocking of fishers back in the 60's and 70's. Small game hunting will never rebound due to the predator situation and the “uncontrolled” population of birds of prey. It's impossible.

Our big game situation is what really concerns me most of all. Years ago, our Conservation Department managed deer with the help of the sportsmen “common sense” and cooperation.

Not so today! In recent years, the white-tailed deer populations have been decimated in many areas of the Southern Catskills due to poor management by personnel employed recently by the Department of Environmental Conservation. The days of Bill Sereringhaus, Fred Ford, Glenn Cole, and Dick Henry are gone. These individuals knew deer management and were field experienced and schooled for their positions. These gentlemen knew their job and worked hand and hand with the sportsmen seeking info to keep a well-balanced deer herd in all areas of the Southern zone. I wish I could say the same for the people in charge today.

These people are literally destroying what is left of the present deer population both buck and doe. Reason, they are uncooperative and have limited knowledge about their jobs except statistics, which are misleading and mean little or nothing when it comes to managing deer, but it gives them a way out of the problem.

The old timers I mentioned before would go to the sportsmen, listen to their advice, and respond accordingly. Not that way today. A good example is the three-point regulation in area 3A that had to be accomplished by going the political route. What a shame.

I would like to go back to the 40's and come forward to present day big game hunting. When I started hunting, the big game season ran from November 1st to November 15th. Over the years it was noted that with the season opening on November 1st, many does were not being bred due to the bucks being shot off (there were no doe seasons back then).

The Department biologist and game managers along with sportsmen input changed the season to run from November 15th to November 30th. Just “common sense” totally lacks today. This season went on for a number of years and the white tail population flourished and became large enough to warrant the 1st doe season in 1954. This “doe day” was the last day of the big game season and proved to be a success in balancing the deer population.

As years went on, the Conservation Department was renamed the Department of Environmental Conservation and the sportsmen have suffered ever since. Our game wardens or game protectors were now labeled En-Con officers thus giving them more work enforcing environmental abuse and, as a result, our fish and game protection suffered. These officers by the way do the best they can protecting our fish and wildlife along with the added burden of enforcing environmental laws.

They are to be congratulated for their dedication to their job while working for seven years without a contract. How ridiculous. This problem plus the length of the big game season, unqualified personnel, political appointees (who know little or nothing about their positions) and uncontrolled and monitored issuance of D map and nuisance permits has put our deer herd in serious jeopardy in the Southern Catskill. Simple as that!

The length of the big game season is ridiculous. With the addition of the “Holiday Hunt”, it will allow our white tails to be hunted approximately 89 days a year. How stupid can you people be!!

In case you aren't aware the white tail deer now along with trout and bass are the only species of fish and game that can be hunted and fished during their breeding season. What's wrong with this picture? Wake up management people, continue managing big game the way you have been over recent years and you will be looking for employment elsewhere.

I and many other sportsmen feel it is about time to go back to the good ole days when the season was 15 days long in order to achieve balance again in our deer herd. Let's forget about statistics.

When managing our deer herd use some good old “common sense”. You can't have a healthy deer population by hunting them 89 days, before the rut, during the rut, and after the rut, along with rampant issuance of doe permits and nuisance permits and the fawn mortality rate due to the bears, coyotes, and fishers and expect to have a healthy and balanced deer herd in the southern zone of the Catskills. It's impossible!! Let's forget about the greedy wants of some organizations and associations and give our deer a chance to rebound.

To achieve this, sportsmen must stand together, whether you hunt with a bow, gun, or muzzleloader and realize that our white tail deer are in trouble. The seasons must be shortened (not lengthened). Our deer population cannot stand this pressure. Listen now. It's time to act and put a stop to the ridiculous length of the big game season and the poor managing by the D.E.C.

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