-- Recreational Sporting Season Reminders --

Upcoming Seasons
The reminders listed below include open and final recreational season dates for the weeks of March 9 through March 23. For all season dates and to view more information about hunting and fishing in New York State, visit DEC's Outdoor Activities(http://www.dec.ny.gov/62.html) webpage.
Fishing(http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/fishing.html)
· March 15 - Final day for northern pike, pickerel, tiger muskellunge and walleye fishing statewide, unless exceptions apply. Exceptions are listed by water body and county on DEC's Freshwater Fishing Regulations (http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/7917.html) web page. · March 16 through November 30 - Open season for striped bass in the Hudson River. This includes all waters and tributaries of the Hudson River north of the George Washington Bridge. The minimum size limit is 18 inches, and the daily possession limit is 1. Fishing for striped bass in marine and coastal waters south of the George Washington Bridge will open on April 15.
Waterfowl Hunting(http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/28503.html)
For Snow Goose: · March 1 through April 15 - Open season in the Southeastern Zone (http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/28497.html) · March 9 - Final day in the Long Island Zone (http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/28497.html) · March 11 through April 15 - Open Special Snow Goose Season (http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/50514.html) in several waterfowl hunting zones
For Canada Goose: · March 10 - Final day for both Western Long Island and South Canada Goose Hunting Area (http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/28496.html)
Trapping(http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/355.html)
· March 15 - Final day for beaver (http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/29044.html) trapping in remaining open areas of western New York State
Small Game Hunting (http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/27801.html)
· March 18 - Final day for varying hare (http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/29451.html) and cottontail rabbit (http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/29449.html) hunting in remaining open areas of New York State

WE NEED YOU TO CALL NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY SPEAKER SHELDON SILVER TODAY. HERE IS WHY.

 

Negative impacts on human health have accompanied gas drilling using hydrofracking wherever it has been done.  Despite that, the permit conditions proposed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to “govern” fracking makes little mention of the health impacts of fracking. 

That is why Catskill Mountainkeeper and our coalition partners are demanding that  the legislature require that an independent comprehensive Health Impact Assessment (HIA) be done prior to any further discussions of shale gas.

In October 2011, 250 physicians and medical professionals wrote a letter to Governor Cuomo calling for a comprehensive public health impact assessment.   This was sent because the concerns outlined in a previous letter sent to The department of health and the Governor were clearly ignored in the draft Supplemental generic environmental Impact statement (SGEIS) .

A health impact assessment, which is defined by the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences, "INCLUDES MANY TOOLS THAT HELP ENSURE THE VALIDITY OF THE FINDINGS AND HAVE MULTIPLE PLACES FOR PUBLIC INPUT TO THE DOCUMENT."

This will tell New Yorkers what the “true” costs of gas drilling are. 

Certainly the risk to the human and animal health in New York State justifies that such a health Impact assessment be done.

On Tuesday our allies in the Assembly worked to have this attached to the budget as a resolution.

Now the industry is pushing hard to have it removed.

The Cuomo administration keeps calling for science not emotion.  This is the science.  Call Assemblyman Sheldon Silver today!

Thank him and ask him to continue the fight to keep a Health Impact Assessment in the Budget.  It is very important that he hears from you now.

New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver Contact Information:

District Office
250 Broadway
Suite 2307
New York, NY 10007
212-312-1420

Albany Office
LOB 932
Albany, NY 12248
518-455-3791

Speak Out Now to Protect the Hudson River

Photo credit: Rob Friedman The Hudson River needs you.  Governor Cuomo and State agencies involved are bent on pushing through a plan to replace the Tappan Zee Bridge at breakneck speed, while refusing to answer the public’s tough questions about cost, mass transit, impacts to the Hudson River and even the fundamental question of whether we need a new bridge in the first place.  It's critically important that you take action now to protect the Hudson River and our communities from a fatally flawed and potentially destructive Tappan Zee crossing project. The New York State Department of Transportation is rushing a project of historic size and impact, ignoring years of study and an outpouring of public criticism. Officials need to hear from you that we won't accept a crossing without mass transit—and that New York must consider alternatives that will prevent environmental damage from a massive construction project in the Hudson River. Tell them you don't want to be stuck with the tax bill and the tolls for a project that is obsolete from Day 1. It is essential that Governor Cuomo and the agencies involved hear from the public. Hundreds have spoken out at public hearings about the need for mass transit; tell them you demand that the Hudson River be protected too. The opportunity to respond to the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) ends on Friday, March 30.  The State is required by law to review and consider all public comments. Making a brief statement now is your best chance to make a difference. We encourage you to express your own concerns or use Riverkeeper's top concerns as a guideline. Riverkeeper will be filing detailed comments by the deadline. Submit your comments by mail, fax or email: Michael P. Anderson Project Director, NYS DOT 4 Burnett Boulevard Poughkeepsie, New York 12603 Email: tzbsite@dot.state.ny.us P: 877-892-3685 F: 845-454-7443

Three Tips for a Better Backcast

English casting instructor Alex Titov demonstrates the high rod stop, with the rod pointing straight upward, and he's watching the line unfurl behind him, so he knows when to begin his forward cast. photo via Alex Flyfishing If you're looking to improve your cast, start by perfecting your backcast. Here are three tips that will help you accomplish a better backcast and therefore, a better cast in general. 1. Start with the rod tip pointed down at the water. This allows the rod to move through a more complete motion, which provides it with more kinetic energy. Conversely, if you start the rod parallel with the water, you have decreased the backcast stroke dramatically, resulting in a decrease of potential kinetic energy, as well. 2. Stop your backcast with the tip of the rod pointed straight upward. This is most important, since it allows the stored kinetic energy in the rod to flex the rod, which is the whole idea behind the casting stroke. Be careful to not break your wrist. And don't over-think this one. It's simple. Stop the backcast with the rod tip pointed straight up, or at your ear, or next to your temple, or whatever works for you to that end. But straight up is the key. 3. Watch your backcast straighten out off the tip of the rod. This allows the rod to fully load for the forward cast and lets the line to achieve its proper speed relative to the energy in the rod. By keeping these three tips in mind, your backcast will improve greatly and as a result, so will your forward cast. Tim Linehan is the owner of Linehan Outfitting Co. on the Kootenai River in Troy, Montana. Share this with your friends:

New Legislation Addresses Major Threats to Recreational Fishing

 

Take action today to protect recreational fishing’s conservation heritage

On February 27, Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL) introduced the Sportsmen’s Heritage Act of 2012 (H.R. 4089) with the support of Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus leaders Reps. Dan Benishek (R-MI), Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Don Young (R-AK) and Dan Boren (D-OK). This legislative package addresses two very significant threats to recreational fishing: attempts to ban lead fishing tackle and loss of access to public lands. To learn more, read the bill text.

The Sportsmen’s Heritage Act of 2012 includes language from the Hunting, Fishing and Recreational Shooting Sports Protection Act, which seeks to prevent a federal ban on lead in recreational fishing tackle and will ensure that any future regulations on fishing tackle are established based on scientific fact instead of unjustified, unsubstantiated petitions. In 2010 and 2012, anglers nationwide twice defeated anti-fishing efforts to federally ban lead fishing tackle. Despite these monumental wins for anglers, attempts to overregulate our sport have not ended, as anti-fishing organizations are currently challenging these wins in court, further demonstrating the need for a legislative solution.

Another major threat to recreational fishing that is addressed in the Sportsmen’s Heritage Act of 2012 is lack of access. In fact, it is the primary reason that keeps anglers from enjoying a day on the water. With expanding land development and growing regulations restricting angler access, federally owned lands are more important than ever for recreational fishing opportunity. The Sportsmen’s Heritage Act of 2012 will increase access to angling, hunting and recreational shooting on federal lands by prioritizing these activities within agencies' land management plans.

Take Action

The Sportsmen’s Heritage Act of 2012 will increase public access to our nation’s public lands, prevent an unjustified ban on fishing tackle and also promote the conservation values of hunting and recreational shooting. This legislative package offers tremendous opportunity to the sporting community and it is important that sportsmen and woman speak up in support. Click here to send a message to your Member of Congress today in support off this important bill – you can’t afford not to.

Natural Gas Drilling - Sportsmen Alliance for Marcellus Conservation

TGF Bulletin

 

The proliferation of Marcellus Shale development will result in an industrialization of the landscape of portions of upstate New York.  In the Catskill Mountains, the Beaverkill, Neversink, Esopus and Delaware Rivers as well as the Willowemoc Creek, are vital trout producing waters, which produce consistently-flowing, cold, clear water year-round to enable its trout populations to thrive.  TGF continues to play an active leading role in addressing natural gas development in New York State as a member of The Sportsmen Alliance for Marcellus Conservation (Sportsmen Alliance).  The Sportsmen Alliance is a coalition of more than 265,000 sportsmen and women and conservation groups working to reduce the impacts caused by gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale on hunting, fishing, trapping and other outdoor sporting activities.

In January 2012, the Sportsman Alliance, with TGF's participation, submitted written comments for submission to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) regarding the Revised Draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (rDSGEIS) on the Oil, Gas and Solution Mining Regulatory Program: Well Permit Issuance for Horizontal Drilling and High-Volume Hydraulic Fracturing (HVHF) to Develop the Marcellus Shale and Other Low-Permeability Gas Reservoirs, dated September 7, 2011.  While the coalition supports responsible energy development, the Sportsmen Alliance is concerned that New York's environmental review and proposed regulations do not adequately protect valuable and irreplaceable natural resources, including clean water and critical habitat for fish and wildlife, from drilling activities. As part of its comments, the Sportsmen Alliance recommends that the DEC prohibit both surface and sub-surface drilling on state-owned lands.  In addition, the Sportsmen Alliance strongly urges the DEC to protect areas that have high ecological value, as well as lands that were set aside for recreational and watershed purposes.  Toward that end, the Sportsman Alliance recommends that no surface or sub-surface drilling be permitted in the following areas:  the New York portion of the Delaware River basin; Catskill park and state lands within close proximity; all state-owned lands identified by the DEC in the rDSGEIS; Allegany State Park; watersheds that been granted filtration Avoidance Determinations by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; primary and principal aquifers; and watersheds where wild or native brook trout populations exist and that have high habitat integrity.  The Sportsmen Alliance further recommends increasing setbacks from waterways to assure protection of water resources, including around the Finger Lakes and shore of Lake Erie (buffers should consider the slope of shoreline and upland areas and the thickness and attenuation capacity of the soils) and perennial and intermittent streams, ponds, lakes and rivers.

 

TGF continues to work with several not-for-profit organizations in addressing concerns regarding natural gas development of the Marcellus Shale.

For more information regarding natural gas development of the Marcellus Shale please see the following websites:

http://www.tgf.org/

http://sportsmenalliance.org/index.htm

http://sportsmenalliance.org/about_us.htm

The Riverkeeper Top 3 - March 1, 2012

Fracking Day of Action courtesy Jessica Riehl

Don't Frack with NY Towns!

In two separate cases, state judges affirmed towns’ rights to restrict gas drilling within their borders. While these victories are sure to be appealed to higher levels, these two initial wins could prove pivotal, as Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the Department of Environmental Conservation have said they could finalize their fracking proposal this spring, despite the record-setting 60,000 public comments in response to New York’s flawed draft.

· Take Action! With two clicks, you can use Riverkeeper’s online action center to tell your state representatives to Stop the Rush to Frack and to close a loophole that now exempts frackers from treating their hazardous waste like other industries.

· Get Informed: Read about first-ever state rules governing the large-scale withdrawal of water for purposes including fracking, and Riverkeeper’s concerns.

· Donate: Support our Don’t Frack with New York campaign with a donation to Riverkeeper’s Watershed Program.

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Fighting for Safer Swimming

Riverkeeper has documented many instances when water quality fails to meet Environmental Protection Agency standards for safe swimming. That’s why we’re fighting back against an EPA proposal that would lower the bar on water quality standards and public health protection. We are calling for monitoring and reporting that will more accurately represent water quality conditions and support actions to stop sewage pollution. Riverkeeper is also urging Brooklyn and Queens residents to demand that long-term plans for sewage overflows in Newtown Creek set a higher bar for water quality.

· Take Action! Sign our petition in support of a Sewage Right to Know Law.

· Get Informed: Check the water quality data for your location, and read about our efforts to build a volunteer team to test the Hudson’s largest tributary.

· Donate: Ensure testing continues with a gift to Riverkeeper’s Water Quality Program.

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Intervening to Protect Vital Hudson Habitat

Transmission Developers, Inc. (TDI) is seeking permits to build the Champlain Hudson Power Express, a 1,000-megawatt electric transmission line that would deliver power to New York City, in part with a submarine cable in the Hudson River. Together with its partners, Riverkeeper agreed to a settlement, negotiated over 15 months, with TDI that would:

· protect critical Hudson habitats, including between Albany and Catskill, and in Haverstraw Bay (pictured), by removing the cable from a third of the river; 

· require testing before and after construction to ensure river life isn’t affected; and,

· create a $117 million fund, administered by a third party, that will pay for habitat studies, restoration and other priority projects identified by New York and environmental groups, including Riverkeeper.

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Riverkeeper in the Press

02.24.12 :: DiscoveryNews
Small Town Gets Court to Ban Fracking
The town of Dryden, N.Y., recently won a court ruling saying it could prohibit fracking as part of its zoning ordinance. Environmental groups called the ruling a victory for residents while drilling proponents are unsure the ruling will mean that other towns can put a halt to fracking. Kate Hudson, Riverkeeper’s Watershed Program Director, said, “A number of towns were waiting to see how the litigation gets settled, but nobody thinks it is the end.”

02.22.12 :: Capital
What can Andrew Cuomo actually do about Indian Point?
On the federal level, in 2010 and 2011, Entergy spent around $8.2 million on lobbyists. “They have enormous legal resources at their disposal… their lawyers outnumber us sometimes three to one.” Phillip Musegaas, Riverkeeper’s Hudson River Program Director.

02.22.12 :: The Daily Tarrytown
Concerns Arise About GM Clean-Up in Sleepy Hollow
Phillip Musegaas said Riverkeeper was still reviewing the documents on the proposed remediation, but that it is “very skeptical” that capping over the site will prevent further contamination, because the polluted soil will still interact with groundwater and will continue "leaching contaminants into the Hudson River."