November 16, 2012 - Field Notes
In This Issue:
- Help Protect Grassland Birds through DEC's Landowner Incentive Program
- Comment on Commercial Fishery 2013 Quota Distributions
- New Barrier for Sea Lamprey Control in the Great Lakes
- Prevent the Spread of Chronic Wasting Disease
- Upcoming Recreational Sporting Seasons
- More Noteworthy DEC News
- "Did You Know...?" Fact Featuring the Moon Jellyfish
Help Protect Grassland Birds through DEC's Landowner Incentive Program
Henslow's sparrow is a threatened New York State
bird that relies on grassland habitat for survival
~Photo by John Mietz
The application period is now open for the Landowner Incentive Program (LIP), which offers technical and financial assistance to private landowners or not-for-profit organizations who own at least 25-acres of contiguous grasslands within one of the state's focus areas. Selected applicants are required to follow a five-year site management plan to care for important grassland habitat. Management activities include leaving birds undisturbed during the nesting season, mowing a portion of grassland after the nesting season, and removing some shrubs, invasive species, trees and hedgerows. While helping to protect important grassland habitat for threatened and endangered wildlife, participants are compensated $110 per acre each year.
To obtain an application form and learn more about the program, visit DEC's LIP Grassland Protection Project webpage. The application deadline is January 15, 2013. For further questions, e-mail the program or call 518-402-8943.
Comment on Commercial Fishery 2013 Quota Distributions
On November 13, 2012, DEC's Bureau of Marine Resources met with commercial fishermen to discuss how to best distribute the 2013 quota for bluefish, black sea bass, scup and summer flounder. The outcome of this discussion is available on DEC's Drafting 2013 Quota Distribution Plans webpage. Please review the plans on the webpage and share your opinion with DEC's Bureau of Marine Resources by emailing the bureau or call 631-444-5621. Another meeting to discuss distribution plans is scheduled for 6:00 PM on Wednesday, December 5, 2012 at the Bureau of Marine Resources office in East Setauket.
New Barrier for Sea Lamprey Control in the Great Lakes
The completed barrier at Orwell Brook will reduce the
numbers of parasitic sea lamprey entering Lake Ontario
Did you know a single adult sea lamprey is capable of killing up to 40 pounds of trout and salmon in its lifetime? To control these parasitic fish, techniques like chemical treatments (lampricides), trapping and barrier dams are used. Recently, the Great Lakes Fisheries Commission, DEC's Lake Ontario Unit and Region 7 staff completed construction of a sea lamprey barrier on Orwell Brook, a Lake Ontario tributary. The new barrier will:
- Prevent lamprey access to about 1.7 acres of preferred spawning and larval habitat.
- Eliminate an average of 47,398 lamprey larvae upstream of the barrier.
- Allow native aquatic organisms to move upstream when barrier operations are ceased during non-sea lamprey spawning migrations.
- Decrease the frequency of lampricide treatments from annually to every four years.
Visit DEC's Sea Lamprey webpage for details on additional control efforts in the Great Lakes and connecting tributaries, as well as lamprey facts and images.
Prevent the Spread of Chronic Wasting Disease
The term "chronic wasting disease" describes the
emaciation that eventually results from infection
~ Photo by Wisconsin Department of
Natural Resources,courtesy of CWD Alliance
Whether you're a hunter, taxidermist, deer processor or wildlife watcher, you can help keep New York State's deer herd free from chronic wasting disease (CWD). With the recent detection of CWD in Pennsylvania this past October, the threat to our state's wild white-tailed deer has significantly increased. The best approach for protecting New York's deer is to keep infectious material out of the state. By knowing and complying with CWD regulations, disposing of hunter-killed deer parts and carcasses responsibly, and reporting sick or abnormally behaving deer, you can help prevent its spread. Learn the facts of this threatening disease and find details about actions you can take by visiting DEC's recently updated Chronic Wasting Disease webpages or by viewing DEC's CWD Fact Sheet (PDF) (478 KB)
Upcoming Recreational Sporting Seasons
Listed below are upcoming recreational sporting seasons for Saturday, November 17 through Friday, November 30 only. To view all fishing, hunting and trapping seasons, visit DEC's Outdoor Activities webpage or DEC's new Sporting Seasons Calendar.
Fishing
November 30: Final day for the following:
- Black bass (largemouth bass and smallmouth bass) - in all freshwater bodies statewide (the catch and release season opens on December 1).
- Hickory shad - in tidal waters of the Hudson River and tributaries north of the Tappan Zee Bridge
- Muskellunge - in all freshwater bodies statewide
- Striped bass - in tidal waters of the Hudson River and tributaries north of the George Washington Bridge
(For exceptions to black bass or muskellunge seasons above, check the special freshwater fishing regulations by county. For hickory shad and striped bass fishing in marine waters, check the saltwater fishing regulations.)
You must report your take
of bear, deer or turkey
within seven days via
DEC's online reporting
system or by
calling 1-888-426-3778
Hunting
Big Game (Deer and Bear)
- November 17: Southern Zone regular firearms season opens. Hunters should be aware of several important programs and recent changes, which can be found in DEC's press release announcing the November 17 opener.
- November 17-21: Open turkey season on Long Island (Nassau and Suffolk Counties)
Waterfowl
(view maps and descriptions of waterfowl hunting zones or Canada goose hunting areas for the following seasons)
- November 23: The following seasons open in the Long Island waterfowl hunting zone:
- Brant
- Canada goose - in central and western Long Island Canada goose hunting area only
- Ducks, coots and mergansers
- Snow goose
- November 24: Final day for brant hunting in western and northeastern waterfowl hunting zones
- November 24: Open Canada goose season in the east central Canada goose hunting area
- November 25: Final day for ducks, coots, mergansers and brant in the Long Island waterfowl hunting zone, and for Canada goose in the central Long Island Canada goose hunting area (these seasons reopen in December, visit the "waterfowl" link above for season details)
- November 27: Final day for Canada goose hunting in west central Canada goose hunting area (season will reopen on December 29)
- November 25: The following seasons open in western and central areas of upstate NY:
- Beaver
- Mink and Muskrat (Mink may also be hunted during the open trapping season in the southern zone with a firearm not larger than .22 caliber. For more details, visit DEC's Furbearer Hunting webpage)
More Noteworthy DEC News
Below are DEC press releases not to be missed!
- Collaborative Recovery Effort Returns Rare Gilt Darter Fish to the Allegheny River
Release of the state endangered fish aims to boost species' population in the northeast. - Deepwater Ciscoes to be Re-introduced Into Lake Ontario
The "bloater" fish, a deepwater cisco, was re-introduced into Lake Ontario offshore of Oswego, bringing the fish back to the lake for the first time in nearly thirty years. - DEC Re-Opens Particular Shellfishing Areas in Suffolk County
Scallops (including bay scallops), oysters, clams and mussels may now be harvested in several areas within Suffolk County as temporary emergency closures originally implemented in response to Hurricane Sandy coastal flooding were rescinded.
Did You Know...?
Instead of long, trailing tentacles,
moon jellyfish have a short, fine fringe
known as "cilia" that is used for sweeping in food
~Photo by Natalie Sacco
Moon jellyfish, also referred to as sea jellies, are one species of jellyfish that most humans can touch without feeling a painful sting. Although they never quite reached the moon, nearly 2,500 juvenile moon jellies went from undersea to outer space as they launched into orbit aboard the shuttle Columbia in 1991. On their mission, they helped scientists learn more about the effects of living in space.
Learn more about the moon jellyfish mission to space on the NASA Quest(External Link) website , or view the Video: Studying the Balance of Jellyfish in Space.(External Link)
