Contact: Joe Mullin, Manager, Northeastern States
Why it Matters: The New York Sportsmen’s Advisory Council (NYSAC) serves a crucial role in advancing pro-hunting, fishing, recreational shooting, and trapping policies in the Empire State. NYSAC and its members serve as New York’s premier collective of organizations fighting on behalf of the state’s sportsmen and women and their sporting heritages. NYSAC provides a solid foundation for synergy amongst conservation groups across New York and its support is critical to the work of the New York Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus.
On Tuesday, July 12, the New York Sportsmen’s Advisory Council (NYSAC) hosted its annual Board meeting, wherein three Board members, Jason Kemper (representing the New York State Conservation Fund Advisory Board), Larry Steiner (representing Safari Club International-Adirondack/Catskill Chapter), and Dan Owen (representing the New York State Conservation Council) were reelected by their peers.
Also up for vote were four Officer positions. The Board elected Bill Schwerd (representing New York 4-H Shooting Sports) to serve as Chair, Rick McDermott (representing the Crossbow Coalition) as Vice Chair, Jason Kemper (representing the New York State Conservation Fund Advisory Board) to the Treasurer position, and Larry Becker (advisor and general sportsmen’s advocate) as the Secretary.
Over the years, NYSAC has assisted in a wide variety of event planning and policy efforts, and it works to leverage the knowledge and resources of each of the member organizations and individuals to speak in a united voice on matters related to hunting, angling, recreational shooting, and trapping and to support the work of the Caucus.
Prior to the Board and Officer elections, the group discussed recent policy priorities relative to access and opportunities for New York’s hunting and sport shooting traditions. Joe Mullin, Northeastern States Manager for CSF, then provided the latest news on CSF’s efforts on Capitol Hill. Mullin briefly recapped the latest news on: fighting a House Appropriations Committee spending bill that would prohibit the U.S. Fish and Wildlife from using federal funds to issue trophy import permits for elephant and lion trophies from Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe; the House’s passage of Recovering America’s Wildlife Act – an effort spearheaded by leaders of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus (CSC); and the Chronic Wasting Disease Research and Management Act and its Senate companion (S. 4111) – two CSC led efforts drawing in bipartisan support.
CSF congratulates the recently elected leadership team and looks forward to continued work alongside all NYSAC members and their effort in support of the Caucus.
Studies conducted at both the state and federal level have found that the number of hunters and trappers have been on a generally declining trend over the past several decades. To increase recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) of hunters and trappers, which initiative do you think would have the greatest impact?
