NYS Conservation Fund Advisory Board

Introduction

The New York State Conservation Fund Advisory Council was established by Chapter Four of the Laws of 1982 as a branch of the State Executive Department. It provides the license buying public of the State of New York with an oversight in the expenditure of Conservation Fund monies, there by ensuring that the fund is spent in accordance with the Environmental Conservation Law, specifically for the care, management, protection and enlargement of the fish and game resources of the State and for the promotion of public fishing, hunting and trapping.

Under Chapter 308 of the laws of 1994, the Council was reestablished as the Conservation Fund Advisory Board (CFAB) and removed from the jurisdiction of the Executive Law and placed under the Environmental Conservation Law. The change allowed the addition of ex-officio members to the Board (Senate and Assembly Environmental Committee, Senate Finance Committee, Assembly Ways and Means Committee and DEC Commissioner, or their representatives), in an effort to speed up communications and give the panel the ability to make more timely decisions.

All CFAB members are volunteers serving without salaries and having a long-standing interest, knowledge and experience in fish and wildlife management, including hunting, fishing, trapping and related conservation activities. The members represent each of the nine DEC Regions and two statutory members representing the New York State Conservation Council, Inc. and The New York State Fish and Wildlife Management Act Board.

CFAB's function is to make recommendations to appropriate State agencies on plans, policies and programs affecting fish and wildlife. This is accomplished by CFAB review of proposed and final allocations and expenditures of the Division of Fish, Wildlife and Marine Resources. The Board submits a report annually to the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation by November 15th of each year. The primary purpose of this report to DEC is to advise the Commissioner regarding the Board's assessment of the extent to which expenditures and appropriations from the Conservation Fund are consistent with the requirements of State Law.

Board members can be contacted by writing the Conservation Fund Advisory Board, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233-4750, or e-mail the Conservation Fund Advisory Board.

Members

Charles A. Bevilacqua, Vice Chairman (Region 1) was born in Brooklyn and has been a resident of Nassau County since 1950. He is a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps and attended Nassau Community College and the American Management Institute. He has been active in community affairs as a former Scoutmaster, fund-raiser and assistant coach for the Syosset Spartans Young Sports Program. He is an avid hunter, angler, competitive target shooter and Life Member of the National Rifle Association. Presently, Charlie serves on the Nassau County Forest Practices Board, the NYS Open Space Advisory committee for Region 1 and the NYS Conservation Council/NY Power Authority Joint Task Force on Energy and Natural Resources. He has been active with the Nassau County Fish and Game Association, holding offices as President, Vice-President and Director. He is a past President of the Manhasset Bay Sportsmen's Club. Charlie has held several offices with the NYS Conservation Council, including Vice-President, Regional Director and a member of several key committees. He is associated with Nassau Suffolk Realty. He has held various management positions with Lisa & Company, has been a Senior Field Engineer with TRW and a Sales Manager with Singer Business Machines. He was appointed in 1984 to serve as the representative of Region 1.

The Honorable Gordon J. Whiting, (Region 2) was born and raised in Bronxville, New York and has lived in Manhattan since 1992. He lives in New York City with his wife, and son and they are awaiting the birth of their second child. He is a Managing Director of Angelo, Gordon & Co., L.P. a leading investment management firm specializing in non-traditional assets, where he founded and leads the AG Net Lease Realty Group. Previously, he was an Executive Director of W. P. Carey & Co. LLC (NYSE: WPC). He was also the President of Corporate Associates 14, Incorporated, one of W. P. Carey's publicly held, non-traded real estate investment trusts that invest in commercial and industrial properties with assets in excess of $1.1 billion. Mr. Whiting serves on the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board ("FRTIB"), a position to which he was nominated by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2002. The FRTIB oversees the approximately $225 billion of retirement accounts (the Thrift Savings Plan) for most Federal employees and military personnel. He also serves on Cornell University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Advisory Council, the Board of United Neighbors of East Midtown, Inc., is the President of the Camp Fire Conservation Fund, Inc., and is an Eagle Scout. He is also a member of the Camp Fire Club of America, is the Secretary of the Mashomack Preserve Club and a Regular Member of the Boone and Crockett Club. An avid conservationist, hunter and fisherman he is a New York State Lifetime Sportsman, Trapping, Bowhunting and Muzzleloading License holder, a Patron Member of the National Rifle Association and a graduate of Cornell University and the Columbia University Graduate School of Business. He was appointed in 2006 to serve as the representative of Region 2.

VACANT (Region 3)

Alan L. Rosa, (Region 4) is a lifelong resident of New York State and lives in the Catskill Park near Arkville and has a camp on the Little Woodhull in the Adirondacks. He is a graduate of Margaretville Central School and holds Independent Study in Economics for Business and Business Law from Cornell University. Alan was a professional taxidermist for 15 years, a former accountant and small business owner who was elected Supervisor of the Town of Middletown in 1990 and was on the Delaware County Board of Supervisors. In 1991, he helped found the Coalition of Watershed Towns and became a chief negotiator of the New York City Watershed Memorandum of Agreement which established the Catskill Watershed Corp. Alan was elected the first president of the CWC Board of Directors in 1997, and was named to the Executive Director's post in March, 1999. He has hiked, camped, hunted and fished throughout the Catskills and Adirondacks. Alan continues to work with all involved parties to open New York City watershed lands for recreational use in the Catskills. Alan can be found during his free time fly fishing the streams and small lakes and ponds of New York State.

Jason Kemper, (Region 5) currently resides in the Town of Edinburg, Saratoga County. He received a B.A. in Environmental Science from SUNY Plattsburgh and a Masters Degree in Urban and Regional Planning from SUNY Albany with a Certificate in GIS Applications. Mr. Kemper is currently employed as Director of Planning for Saratoga County. Prior employment includes Director of Planning for the Town of Clifton Park, Environmental Specialist for the Town of Clifton Park, NYS Emergency Management Office and the Fulton County Soil and Water Conservation District. He also is a member of the NYS GIS Coordinating Body. Mr. Kemper, who is an avid hunter and fisherman, is well aware of the various issues facing New York State sportsmen today. He particularly enjoys deep wilderness deer hunting and fishing remote brook trout ponds in the Adirondacks. He is currently a member of the National Wild Turkey Federation, National Rifle Association and the Great Sacandaga Lake Fisheries Federation. Mr. Kemper participates in the Saratoga County fish stocking program and is involved with the Great Sacandaga Lake Fisheries Federation and their activities on the Sacandaga. He was appointed by the NYS Assembly as the Region 5 representative to the Conservation Fund Advisory Board in June of 2007.

Linda S. Sicley, (Region 6) is a native New Yorker who has resided in the Town of Worth, Jefferson County, since 1979. She and her husband have two daughters and three sons and raise beef cattle on their farm on the Tug Hill Plateau. Her memberships include the Fur Harvesters Association of Jefferson County where she has been secretary since 1992, the New York State Trapper's Association, and the National Rifle Association. She is a delegate to the Lewis County Association and received the Conservationist of the Year award in 2002. She is a DEC Trapper Training Instructor and has participated in the Cornell Cooperative Extension Environmental Awareness Days since 1994 with a Furbearer Management Presentation. Linda is an active member of the Lorraine United Methodist Church. She is a former Delegate and Secretary of the Jefferson County Sportsmen's Federation where she served on the Legislative and Education Committees. She was appointed in 1998 to serve as Region 6 representative to CFAB. Linda enjoys hunting, fishing, and especially trapping with her family.

VACANT (Region 7)

Charles (Charlie) O. Hancock, Chairman (Region 8) was born in Massachusetts but has been a resident of New York State since 1964. He is married with three children and seven grandchildren. Charlie received a BSEE from the University of Denver and MBA from the Rochester Institute of Technology. He served with the U.S. Army Security Agency as an analyst in Germany. Charlie has received the United Nations Environment Programme "Citation of Excellence", the Canadian "Award of Merit", the U.S. EPA "Outstanding Professional", and the Regulatory Affairs Professional Society "RAC Certification". Charlie is a practicing medical device sterilization consultant with his own firm and partners in a sterilization instrumentation and control company. He represents the USA with the International Standards Organization, (ISO) of Geneva, Switzerland. He is an Active Member of the Canadian Standards Association and the U.S. Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation.
His interest in Conservation started as he worked for his Eagle Scout award in the BSA. He has served the Genesee Conservation League as President and member of the Board of Directors; Monroe County Conservation Council; Finger Lakes Conservation Council; and the New York State Conservation Council as a Director at Large. He is President and Chairman of the Genesee Conservation Foundation, Inc. and is a member of the Oatka Fish and Game Club and the Genesee Conservation League. Charlie has also represented Monroe County with the New York State Fish and Wildlife Management Board. He was a charter member of the New York State Canal Recreationway Commission and the New York State Open Space Planning Committee. He was appointed by the NYS Senate as Region 8 CFAB representative in 2004 and elected Chairman in April of 2007.

Fred Langdon, Secretary (Region 9) was born, raised and spent most of his life in Buffalo. He now resides in West Seneca, NY. He is a Veteran of the US Navy and attended Erie Community College. He served 23 years in the Buffalo Fire Department, retiring in 1985. Fred presently is Owner/Operator of the South End Marina Corporation located on Buffalo's Inner Harbor. An avid hunter, fisherman and conservationist, he served as President and Director of the Bison City Rod and Gun Club, Recording Secretary, Director and Delegate to the Erie County Federation of Sportsmens Clubs, Director of the Niagara Musky Association and is a member of Safari Club International, Niagara River Anglers Association, Southtowns Walleye Association, NYSCC, Niagara Chapter of the NWTF, SCOPE, and the NRA. He is a land owner in the Southern Tier (Cattaraugus County) and is actively pursuing a Quality Deer Management program. Fred expects to retire in a couple of years to spend quality time teaching his 13 grandchildren to appreciate and enjoy the outdoors. He was appointed as Region 9 representative in 2004.

William F. (Bill) Pike, (NYS Fish and Wildlife Management Board (FWMB) Representative) was born in Whitehall, NY and now resides in Hartford, in Washington County. He is a veteran of the United States Air Force and spent 27 years as an electrical supervisor for Sandy Hill Corporation, a maker of specialized paper machinery. After retirement, he went into the electrical contracting business. He is the past President of the Hartford Fish and Game Club and the Washington County Federation of Sportsman Clubs, past Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Region 5 FWMB, and past Vice Chairman of the State FWMB. He is presently a member of the Hartford Fish and Game Club, the Lake George Fishing Alliance, Vice President of the Washington County Federation of Sportsman Clubs, landowner member of the Region 5 and State FWMB, and is on the committee to build a South Bay Fishing Pier on Lake Champlain for public access. He started the Youth Pheasant Hunt in Washington County and is also a member of the NRA and American Legion. Bill is married with three grown children and is a lifetime hunter, fisherman and trapper. He raised English Red Tick hounds for many years and is a competition small bore rifle shooter. He was appointed as FWMB representative in 2007.

Howard O. Cushing, Jr. (NYS Conservation Council (NYSCC) Representative) was appointed as NYSCC representative in 2007.

More about NYS Conservation Fund Advisory Board:

NYS Conservation Fund Advisory Board Monthly Minutes - CFAB Monthly Meeting Minutes - Current Year
Conservation Fund Advisory Board Committees - Conservation Fund Advisory Board.