No one needs to be reminded that we’re in the midst of some tough economic times. Unemployment hovers around double-digit levels, families struggle to pay their bills, taxes keep rising while services erode. Overspending by our state and federal government has finally hit the proverbial wall and now they must do what they’ve been preaching to us during this major recession …tighten their belt. Noble intentions maybe, but what gets cut and what stays the same? Unfortunately I suspect many of our natural resource and conservation management programs will again see the budget ax fall on them

Here in New York it will no doubt be the squeakiest wheels that avoid seeing the budget knife strike, nationally also. Some of the least squeaky are the various conservation programs under the Department of Environmental Conservation huge bureaucratic umbrella. Some of these involve management of our fish, wildlife, forests and habitat. Faced with a steadily expanding responsibility to monitor natural gas drilling and mining, the DEC must balance this budget and personnel draining operation with all the other programs and projects that fall under its many mandates. And given the scope of the natural gas land rush, where do you think its priorities will lie?

Going back several years, the NYS Conservation Fund has been steadily seeing its funds shrinking, and money from the General Fund that paid the salaries and benefits of hundreds of staff in the DEC was cut, early retirements were offered, and those jobs were not filled. However. Many of the duties of those retired employees were then assigned to staff paid out of the Conservation Fund. Despite license and fee increases, lowering the hunting age, and a windfall of Lifetime licenses being sold prior to the license increase date last year, there’s little doubt the Fund will continue to shrink. Now throw in the current deficit of the General Fund and the growing responsibilities of the Division of Mineral Resources in overseeing natural gas operations, and DEC’s plate will be overflowing.

I was disappointed that in his State of the State address the Governor hardly mentioned the impact of the proposed budget cuts and tax increases on “upstate” residents, but instead apparently chose to woo downstate voters, many of whom regularly visit or recreate in our upstate outdoors, probably without ever considering our stewardship role with the DEC in trying to conserve and manage these natural resources for everyone’s benefit and not just our own. How will improving the mass transit systems in the Big Apple help improve our upstate infrastructure and natural resources? The trimming of school aid will result in school districts asking taxpayers for more money when they can least afford it.

Just once during a tough economic period for their constituents I’d like to see our elected officials vote to reduce their salaries, perks and often inflated staff numbers, but I doubt I’ll live long enough to actually see that pie in the sky dream occur. We’re already hearing how the DEC just doesn’t have the funds or personnel to effect better and overdue fish, wildlife and habitat programs. Instead the state trims or chops off programs that have been effective and beneficial. Consider all the community service jobs done by supervised inmates of Camp Pharsalia, and many of these involved management work with DEC in our state forests, parks, watersheds and still waters. And let’s not forget that most of the pheasants we’d see in our area were the result of the camp’s bird rearing program.

For years the Pittman-Robertson Act which created a 10 percent excise tax on sporting arms and ammunition (it later became 11 percent) functioned soundly – generating $150M in funds to states’ wildlife programs each year. Numerous species including migratory birds (ducks and geese), elk, deer, antelope, wild turkey and many other species were rescued from the endangered list and are now not only surviving, but thriving. However, in recent years, notably during the Clinton Administration, evidence surfaced that the sportsman`s conservation trust funds were being mismanaged.