Why It Matters: Mentored youth hunting programs are crucial for introducing the next generation of sportsmen and women into the outdoors, and language such as what’s included in Governor Hochul’s proposed budget has the potential to leave a legacy of opportunities for New York’s youth hunters. The State’s Pilot Program, which allowed counties to opt-in…
Why It Matters: As New York wraps up its budget-setting portion of the year, the legislature will waste no time in heating up with committee hearings. Sportsmen’s policies such as the expanded use of crossbows and allowing 12 and 13year-old hunters to pursue deer with a firearm and/or crossbow remain top-line priorities as we enter…
Why It Matters: Beginning during the 2021-22 hunting season, a pilot program was implemented in New York, allowing counties to authorize mentored deer hunting for 12 and 13-year-olds. The overwhelming acceptance of this program brings New York’s hunting age in line with most other states in the country. The success of that first year was…
Why It Matters: With the new year kicked off, legislatures across the nation are gearing up for busy sessions in the months ahead. Your contacts at the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation are hard at work tracking policies relevant to hunting, fishing, recreational shooting, and trapping, and will continue to operate alongside the pertinent sportsmen’s caucuses within…
Highlights: In early December, the New York Sportsmen’s Advisory Council (NYSAC) submitted two veto requests to New York Governor Kathy Hochul for Senate Bill 6510 (S. 6510) and Assembly Bill 9895 (A. 9895). S. 6510 would have allowed counties and municipalities to opt out of a prescribed hunting season. A. 9895 would have prohibited the harvesting of…
Recent advances in technology, such as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV’s), which can assist in the tracking and taking of game, have posed an ethical debate within the hunting community. Legislators and sportsmen should be mindful of Fair Chase issues and, on a state-by-state basis, determine if legislation is warranted to ensure hunting is practiced ethically…
Why It Matters: Trapping is unique in that it is used in many facets of wildlife management, from population control to human-wildlife conflict resolution, to data collection. Modern restraining traps have been particularly critical in conservation efforts by allowing state agencies to capture and relocate endangered species. The regulations developed by state agencies for trapping…
Why It Matters: State fish and wildlife agencies are instrumental in setting the frameworks that result in the successful conservation and management of a state’s fish, wildlife, and their habitats. Sportsmen and women (including hunters, anglers, recreational shooters, and trappers) have played a crucial role in funding conservation efforts in the United States for over…
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…
Contact: Joe Mullin, Northeastern States Manager Why it Matters: Dedicated efforts spearheaded by CSF, the New York Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus, New York Sportsmen’s Advisory Council, and the New York Department of Environmental Conservation led to the implementation of a pilot program that allowed eligible counties to opt-in for junior hunting. The overwhelming acceptance of this…
Contact: Nick Lewis, Mid-Atlantic States Coordinator Highlights Why it Matters: Hunting, fishing, and other conservation organizations rely heavily on in-person fundraising events to support their missions. With the pandemic still lingering and the economy shifting towards an ever-increasingly digital marketplace, these organizations must have expanded online raffle access to ensure funding mechanisms remain for efforts…
Contact: Nick Lewis, Mid-Atlantic States Coordinator Highlights Why it Matters: The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is the primary manager of fish and wildlife and their habitats in the Empire State. The DEC is entrusted with these responsibilities, for which it utilizes science-based adaptive management models that allow for adaptations to changing…