New York State Conservation Council, Inc.

8 East Main Street , Ilion , NY 13357

PRESS RELEASE:    For Immediate Release

 Contact:     

 315-894-3302 or   Harold Palmer, President 607- 638-9013

                               Howie Cushing,Jr. Exec. Program Director 518-674-2961  

 Subject: NYSCC APPLAUDS DECISION ON FOIL CASE REGARDING RELEASE OF LICENSE BUYER'S PRIVATE INFORMATION

             “The New York State Conservation Council applauds the decision of Albany County Supreme Court Judge William McCarthy in favor of the DEC, in the matter of the application of Jacqueline Goyer, as a citizen taxpayer and agent of the NYS Assembly seeking a judgment compelling the NYS DEC to release information on hunting license buyers.  The decision indicates that the information will not become public”, reported Harold Palmer, President of the New York State Conservation Council.

            The New York State Conservation Council (NYSCC) represents over 1200 clubs and 300,000 sportsmen and women statewide on hunting, fishing, trapping, and gun issues.  President Palmer went on to say, “The sportsmen and women deserve better than to have their names, addresses and information related to the license applications available to any one person, entity, governmental body or institution, without their own personal permission.”

            In this CPLR article 78 proceeding, the petitioner, Ms. Goyer, was seeking a judgment compelling respondents of DEC to comply with her Freedom of Information (FOIL) request pursuant to Public Officers Law # 85 by providing her with the public information she sought, together with the cost of litigation.  DEC contacted the NYSCC to determine if it would have the group’s support in a denial of this information request.  It did. The Conservation Council has always believed that license buyers’ personal information should remain private. The NYSCC also believed that when the new “DECALS” computerized license program was instituted, even more protection was to be put in place to protect the sporting license buyers. DEC Director of Fish, Wildlife and Marine Resources Gerald Barnhart gave sworn testimony to support the reasoning for not giving out the information.  The “DECALS” program provides the buyers first & last name, suffix, gender, height, eye color, date of birth, driver’s license id number, customer

id number, state residency, notation of blindness, military service, disability, fulfillment information, preference points, e-mail address, residential address and telephone number.  The NYSCC maintains that this information should not be released.

             Former NYSCC President Howard Cushing Jr., on behalf of the NYSCC, also gave a sworn affidavit in September 2005.  The court recognized his testimony, which centered around identity theft and personal intrusion.  The Petitioner characterized this argument as “ludicrous”, contending that it is a mere ploy for a State agency to deny access to governmental records.  The court, on the other hand, did not reach the same conclusion and stated: “Identity theft, without question, is becoming one of the fastest growing criminal offenses in the twenty-first century.  Furthermore, the Federal Trade Commission estimates that in a five-year period prior to early 2003 in the US alone, there were 27.3 million reported cases of identity theft alone.”

             The NYSCC would like to thank DEC Commissioner Sheehan, Division Director Gerald Barnhart, DEC Attorney Eidle, Attorney Ira Lipton of Hoguet, Newman & Regal, LLP, Conservation Fund Advisory Board Chairman Robert Monacchio and all those who helped support the sportsmen and women on this sensitive issue.

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