For Immediate Release March 10, 2004

Contact: Howard Cushing (518-674-2961)

Historic All Conservation Organization Conference Featured

During the New York State Conservation Council’s Legislative Meeting

and Annual Sportsmen’s March on Albany , Including a

Special Announcement on Fish Hatcheries

The New York State Conservation Council’s (NYSCC) annual meeting to discuss legislation will be held at the Quality Inn in Albany on March 15^th and will be followed by an All Conservation Organization Conference at 3:30 pm .  All major conservation organizations have been invited to attend and participate in the conference.  Guest speakers from the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership will address the NYSCC on their Open Fields proposal.  Other topics include habitat management, fish hatcheries and management, elk reintroduction, and game management challenges.  Gerry Barnhardt, Director of the Division of Fish, Wildlife and Marine Resources at the Department of Environmental Conservation, will be the dinner speaker.

The NYSCC is pleased to announce that Governor Pataki and DEC Commissioner Erin Crotty have agreed to lift the hiring freeze on state employees that manage the New York State Fish Hatchery System.  This action means that the excellent program of stocking trout in the waters of the State of New York will be in place for the April opening of the trout season.  The NYSCC also thanks the Senate and the Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee Chairs and Members for their support of this important initiative that benefits the upstate economy.  NYSCC President Cushing commends the County Sportsmen ’s Federations and local rod and gun club members who worked so hard to bring this important issue to the attention of State government. NYSCC President Cushing stated, “With the unanimous support of the Members of the NYSCC to restore fish hatchery personnel, since the State Budget was released in January, and as a result of their numerous letters and phone calls, Governor Pataki heard our voice and made this happen.  When our sportsmen and women work together, they can achieve results that other people think are impossible.”

The NYSCC, which was founded in 1933, has invited over twenty organizations to join it in seeking a common ground to preserve, protect, and enhance fish and wildlife resources in this State.  Since 1900, anglers, hunters and trappers have made enormous accomplishments in restoring the natural resources of this State. 

The NYSCC will meet with the Members of the Senate and the Assembly on Tuesday, March 16^th (as part of the March on Albany by sportsmen and women) to present their positions on a wide variety of legislative issues that affect hunters, trappers, and anglers. 

Unfortunately, it is necessary for the NYSCC to make it clear that it is not affiliated with, nor represented by, the Conservation Alliance of New York.  This organization has recently been formed to compete with the NYSCC.  This unfortunate development comes, at the very moment in the Legislative Session, when sportsmen and women need to speak with a united voice.  NYSCC President Cushing said, “This group, in recent weeks, has sought to divide the Members of the NYSCC by using our organizational format, funding methods, and issues advocated by the NYSCC, such as the fish hatchery issue, for their own purposes.  I regret that former DEC Commissioner Mike Zagata has chosen to take this action. He is a divider not a uniter.”

-30-