Part 2, Section 30 - Migratory Game Birds - Regulatory Impact Statement
Regulatory Impact Statement
1. Statutory Authority
Section 11-0303 of the Environmental Conservation Law (ECL) authorizes the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC or department) to provide for the recreational harvest of wildlife giving due consideration to ecological factors, the natural maintenance of wildlife, public safety, and the protection of private property. Environmental Conservation Law sections 11-0303, 11-0307, 11-0903, 11-0905 and 11-0909 and 11-0917 authorize DEC to regulate the taking, possession, transportation and disposition of migratory game birds.
2. Legislative Objectives
The legislative objective of the above-cited laws is to ensure adoption of State migratory game bird hunting regulations that conform with federal regulations made under authority of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. sections 703-711). Season dates and bag limits are used to achieve harvest objectives and equitably distribute hunting opportunity among as many hunters as possible. Regulations governing the manner of taking upgrade the quality of recreational activity, provide for a variety of harvest techniques, afford migratory game bird populations with additional protection, provide for public safety and protect private property.
3. Needs and Benefits
The primary purpose of this rule making is to adjust annual migratory game bird hunting regulations to conform with federal regulations, as required by ECL 11-0307, for the 2009-2010 season and flyway guidelines for resource conservation. This rule making also reflects preferences of migratory game bird hunters in New York.
Migratory game bird population levels fluctuate annually in response to a variety of environmental factors, including weather conditions, predation, and human activities, such as land use changes and harvest. As a result, federal regulations pertaining to hunting of migratory birds are reviewed and adjusted annually. The department annually reviews and promulgates State regulations in order to maintain conformance with federal regulations, as required by ECL section 11-0307, and to address ecological considerations and user desires.
The department is proposing the following regulatory changes: season date adjustments for ducks, geese, brant and Youth Waterfowl Hunt Days in certain areas; changes in daily bag and possession limits for scaup, canvasback ducks and brant in all areas; and allowing the use of electronic calls for snow goose hunting whenever all other waterfowl hunting seasons are closed.
Season date adjustments contained in this rule making are intended to maximize hunting opportunities when they are most desired by hunters (for example, maximizing the number of weekend days open to hunting), within constraints established by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). The department provided considerable opportunity for public input, including recommendations from regional waterfowl hunter task forces, as part of the season selection process.
The daily bag limits for canvasback and scaup were both increased based on improved population status assessments and harvest strategies developed by USFWS and approved by the Atlantic Flyway Council. Similarly, the season length and bag limits for brant were reduced throughout the flyway, based on current population assessments and an approved harvest strategy for that species.
Season dates, bag limits and shooting hours for the Lake Champlain Zone are consistent with regulations established in adjoining areas of Vermont, in accordance with federal regulations and a long standing interstate agreement.
Use of electronic calls for snow goose hunting whenever all other waterfowl seasons are closed was authorized by USFWS in November 2008. Allowing this in New York will help increase harvest of snow geese, which are currently at record high levels and causing ecological damage in the Atlantic Flyway and northern Canada.
4. Costs
These revisions to 6 NYCRR section 2.30 will not result in any increased expenditures by State or local governments or the general public. Costs to DEC for implementing and administering this rule are continuing and annual in nature. These involve preparation and distribution of annual regulations brochures and news releases to inform the public of migratory game bird hunting regulations for the coming season.
5. Paperwork
The proposed revisions to 6 NYCRR section 2.30 do not require any new or additional paperwork from any regulated party.
6. Local Government Mandates
This amendment does not impose any program, service, duty or responsibility upon any county, city, town village, school district or fire district.
7. Duplication
Each year, the USFWS establishes "framework" regulations which specify allowable season lengths, dates, bag limits and shooting hours for various migratory game bird species based on their current population status. Within constraints of the federal framework, New York selects specific hunting season dates and bag limits for various migratory game birds, based primarily on hunter preferences. These selections are subsequently included in a final federal rule making (50 CFR Part 20 section 105), which appears annually in the Federal Register in September. However, section 11-0307 of the ECL specifies that the department's migratory game bird hunting seasons and bag limits conform with the federal regulations. This requires that section 2.30 be amended annually.
8. Alternatives
The principal alternative, which is no action, would result in State waterfowl hunting regulations that do not conform with federal guidelines which would be in conflict with ECL section 11-0307. Leaving season dates and bag limits unchanged would also result in a significant loss of hunting opportunity, public dissatisfaction, and adverse economic impacts because they would not reflect hunter preferences or alleviate goose damage through sport harvest to the extent possible.
9. Federal Standards
There are no federal environmental standards or criteria relevant to the subject matter of this rule making. However, there are federal regulations for migratory game birds. This rule making will conform State regulations to federal regulations, but will not establish any environmental standards or criteria.
10. Compliance Schedule
All waterfowl hunters must comply with this rule making during the 2009-2010 and subsequent hunting seasons.
