mike rossi

Commentary: At least some Iowa legislators apparently handle anti-hunting activists differently than their counterparts in NY. Deardon was a DEMOCRAT, and, in addition to pushing for dove hunting, had also worked toward passing several social issues important to some democrats. And by Iowa standards Deardon's district - Des Moines is about as urban as the state gets. The reason the above is significant is because in NY it is believed, with some merit, that the democrat, NYC Assembly is a major factor in the outcome of pro-hunting legislation. Although Ontario, Canada reinstated dove hunting in 2013, the last U.S. state to do so was Iowa in 2011. Thus, when speaking to your State Representatives or other members of the Legislature in advocating for dove hunting, you should mention the Iowas Senators role in both passing dove hunting and a number of democrat social policies, and that he was a democrat. This article can be shared from our website: http://nydovehunting.weebly.com/dearden-retires-championed-hunting-of-mourning-doves.html Dearden Retires; Championed Hunting of Mourning Doves Sen. Dick Dearden (D-Des Moines) By Joyce Russell APR 19, 2016 A state senator best known for leading a long and controversial fight to legalize the hunting of mourning doves said farewell to the Iowa Senate today. Des Moines Democrat and avid hunting enthusiast Dick Dearden is retiring after 20 years in the legislature. In remarks to his fellow Senators, Dearden recalls leading passage of the dove hunting bill three times before it finally became law in 2011. He remembers what he calls one of his favorite e-mails from an animal rights enthusiast: “This woman wrote, she says, you’re a sick old man,” Dearden said. “I hope you die of a heart attack hunting mourning doves.” Dearden e-mailed the woman back. “So do I,” he wrote. Governor Vilsack vetoed one dove-hunting bill, but Governor Branstad signed it into law at the next attempt. The issue attracted hundreds of men and women in hunting gear to the capitol to push for the bill. Dearden was also instrumental in passing a constitutional amendment to create the state’s Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund. He recalled other votes during his long tenure including voting against restoring the death penalty and against a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. Dearden is a retired labor leader. He and his wife Sharon are long-time Polk County Democratic activists. Dearden’s daughter Pam Dearden Connor is a candidate to succeed her father in Senate District 16 representing the east side of Des Moines.

NY Dove Hunting Special Election Summary, April 19, 2016 State Senate - DISTRICT 9 - Special Election CANDIDATES PARTY VOTE PCT. Todd Kaminsky Democrat 24,721 53.3% Christopher McGrath Republican 21,149 45.6 Laurence Hirsch Green 547 1.2 Anti-Hunter 46,417 votes, 70% reporting (197 of 283 precincts) Summary of State Senate District 9 Special Election: NY Dove Hunting sent Questionnaires to each of the three candidates. Laurence Hirsch was the only candidate to respond and we assigned a grade of F- to him based on his response. This candidate is an anti-hunting activists and hunters and hunting organizations in Senate District 9 and the corresponding Assembly District must keep an eye on Hirsh’s political aspirations and prevent him from becoming elected. Todd Kaminsky, who won this election is a democrat – this seat formerly held by a republican (Dean Skelos). Thus, the State Senate gained a democrat, thereby changing the balance of power in the State Senate. Prior to this special election the State Senate was comprised of 31 republicans and 31 democrats. Now the composition of the State Senate is 31 republicans and 32 democrats. This is significant because the State Assembly is overwhelmingly democrat, especially downstate where districts are densely clustered. Kaminsky, however is presently a member of the State Assembly, so by becoming State Senator a vacancy is created in the Assembly. NY Dove Hunting will send questionnaires to candidates seeking this seat as soon as we determine who they are. All responses or non-responses will be reported on our website. Neither Kaminsky nor Christopher McGrath had responded to our questionnaire. Therefore we cannot grade either candidate, except by examining Kaminsky’s voting record as an Assembly Representative. That however goes beyond our scope in surveying “candidates” in impending elections. Failure to respond to our questionnaire is noted on our website, and although we do not assign a grade to non-responders, we do not consider candidates who do not respond to be favorable. This election generated 46,417 total votes, and the winning margin was 7.7%. As NY Dove Hunting acquires petition signatures we will use zip codes determine how many members we have in corresponding districts. In districts which our members / signatories approach historical winning margins, we can turn elections. State Assembly -DISTRICT 59- Special Election CANDIDATES PARTY VOTE PCT. Jaime Williams Democrat 14,522 82.5% Jeffrey Ferretti Republican 3,086 17.5 17,608 votes, 100% reporting (87 of 87 precincts) Summary: Overwhelming preference for the democratic candidate and 17,608 total votes cast. Neither candidate bothered to complete our questionnaire. State Assembly- DISTRICT 62-Special Election CANDIDATES PARTY Ronald Castorina Uncontested Republican Castorino ran unchallenged and he did not return our questionnaire. State Assembly-DISTRICT 65-Special Election CANDIDATES PARTY VOTE PCT. Alice Cancel Democrat 7,284 41.1% Yuh-Line Niou Working Families 6,250 35.3 Lester Chang Republican 3,520 19.9 Dennis Levy Green 661 3.7 17,715 votes, 100% reporting (98 of 98 precincts) The winning margin was not very large and 17,715 votes were cast. Thus, if it is deemed in our best interest, we may be able to “influence” this district in future elections. Since none of these candidates responded to our questionnaire, we do not know if Alice Cancel or any of the others who ran, would be harmful to our dove initiative and other agenda matters like the state pheasant farm. Source: Election results from The Associated Press. Non-presidential races are called by A.P. http://www.nytimes.com/elections/results/new-york NY Dove Hunting Questionnaire and Report on Candidates: http://nydovehunting.weebly.com/candidate-responses-or-lack-thereof.html http://nydovehunting.weebly.com/candidate-questionnaire.html

You bet, and you wanted everyone to know about the special elections as well.

NY Dove Hunting Special Election Summary, April 19, 2016 State Senate - DISTRICT 9 - Special Election CANDIDATES PARTY VOTE PCT. Todd Kaminsky Democrat 24,721 53.3% Christopher McGrath Republican 21,149 45.6 Laurence Hirsch Green 547 1.2 Anti-Hunter 46,417 votes, 70% reporting (197 of 283 precincts) Summary of State Senate District 9 Special Election: NY Dove Hunting sent Questionnaires to each of the three candidates. Laurence Hirsch was the only candidate to respond and we assigned a grade of F- to him based on his response. This candidate is an anti-hunting activists and hunters and hunting organizations in Senate District 9 and the corresponding Assembly District must keep an eye on Hirsh’s political aspirations and prevent him from becoming elected. Todd Kaminsky, who won this election is a democrat – this seat formerly held by a republican (Dean Skelos). Thus, the State Senate gained a democrat, thereby changing the balance of power in the State Senate. Prior to this special election the State Senate was comprised of 31 republicans and 31 democrats. Now the composition of the State Senate is 31 republicans and 32 democrats. This is significant because the State Assembly is overwhelmingly democrat, especially downstate where districts are densely clustered. Kaminsky, however is presently a member of the State Assembly, so by becoming State Senator a vacancy is created in the Assembly. NY Dove Hunting will send questionnaires to candidates seeking this seat as soon as we determine who they are. All responses or non-responses will be reported on our website. Neither Kaminsky nor Christopher McGrath had responded to our questionnaire. Therefore we cannot grade either candidate, except by examining Kaminsky’s voting record as an Assembly Representative. That however goes beyond our scope in surveying “candidates” in impending elections. Failure to respond to our questionnaire is noted on our website, and although we do not assign a grade to non-responders, we do not consider candidates who do not respond to be favorable. This election generated 46,417 total votes, and the winning margin was 7.7%. As NY Dove Hunting acquires petition signatures we will use zip codes determine how many members we have in corresponding districts. In districts which our members / signatories approach historical winning margins, we can turn elections. State Assembly -DISTRICT 59- Special Election CANDIDATES PARTY VOTE PCT. Jaime Williams Democrat 14,522 82.5% Jeffrey Ferretti Republican 3,086 17.5 17,608 votes, 100% reporting (87 of 87 precincts) Summary: Overwhelming preference for the democratic candidate and 17,608 total votes cast. Neither candidate bothered to complete our questionnaire. State Assembly- DISTRICT 62-Special Election CANDIDATES PARTY Ronald Castorina Uncontested Republican Castorino ran unchallenged and he did not return our questionnaire. State Assembly-DISTRICT 65-Special Election CANDIDATES PARTY VOTE PCT. Alice Cancel Democrat 7,284 41.1% Yuh-Line Niou Working Families 6,250 35.3 Lester Chang Republican 3,520 19.9 Dennis Levy Green 661 3.7 17,715 votes, 100% reporting (98 of 98 precincts) The winning margin was not very large and 17,715 votes were cast. Thus, if it is deemed in our best interest, we may be able to “influence” this district in future elections. Since none of these candidates responded to our questionnaire, we do not know if Alice Cancel or any of the others who ran, would be harmful to our dove initiative and other agenda matters like the state pheasant farm. Source: Election results from The Associated Press. Non-presidential races are called by A.P. http://www.nytimes.com/elections/results/new-york NY Dove Hunting Questionnaire and Report on Candidates: http://nydovehunting.weebly.com/candidate-responses-or-lack-thereof.html http://nydovehunting.weebly.com/candidate-questionnaire.html

NY Dove Hunting Special Election Summary, April 19, 2016 State Senate - DISTRICT 9 - Special Election CANDIDATES PARTY VOTE PCT. Todd Kaminsky Democrat 24,721 53.3% Christopher McGrath Republican 21,149 45.6 Laurence Hirsch Green 547 1.2 Anti-Hunter 46,417 votes, 70% reporting (197 of 283 precincts) Summary of State Senate District 9 Special Election: NY Dove Hunting sent Questionnaires to each of the three candidates. Laurence Hirsch was the only candidate to respond and we assigned a grade of F- to him based on his response. This candidate is an anti-hunting activists and hunters and hunting organizations in Senate District 9 and the corresponding Assembly District must keep an eye on Hirsh’s political aspirations and prevent him from becoming elected. Todd Kaminsky, who won this election is a democrat – this seat formerly held by a republican (Dean Skelos). Thus, the State Senate gained a democrat, thereby changing the balance of power in the State Senate. Prior to this special election the State Senate was comprised of 31 republicans and 31 democrats. Now the composition of the State Senate is 31 republicans and 32 democrats. This is significant because the State Assembly is overwhelmingly democrat, especially downstate where districts are densely clustered. Kaminsky, however is presently a member of the State Assembly, so by becoming State Senator a vacancy is created in the Assembly. NY Dove Hunting will send questionnaires to candidates seeking this seat as soon as we determine who they are. All responses or non-responses will be reported on our website. Neither Kaminsky nor Christopher McGrath had responded to our questionnaire. Therefore we cannot grade either candidate, except by examining Kaminsky’s voting record as an Assembly Representative. That however goes beyond our scope in surveying “candidates” in impending elections. Failure to respond to our questionnaire is noted on our website, and although we do not assign a grade to non-responders, we do not consider candidates who do not respond to be favorable. This election generated 46,417 total votes, and the winning margin was 7.7%. As NY Dove Hunting acquires petition signatures we will use zip codes determine how many members we have in corresponding districts. In districts which our members / signatories approach historical winning margins, we can turn elections. State Assembly -DISTRICT 59- Special Election CANDIDATES PARTY VOTE PCT. Jaime Williams Democrat 14,522 82.5% Jeffrey Ferretti Republican 3,086 17.5 17,608 votes, 100% reporting (87 of 87 precincts) Summary: Overwhelming preference for the democratic candidate and 17,608 total votes cast. Neither candidate bothered to complete our questionnaire. State Assembly- DISTRICT 62-Special Election CANDIDATES PARTY Ronald Castorina Uncontested Republican Castorino ran unchallenged and he did not return our questionnaire. State Assembly-DISTRICT 65-Special Election CANDIDATES PARTY VOTE PCT. Alice Cancel Democrat 7,284 41.1% Yuh-Line Niou Working Families 6,250 35.3 Lester Chang Republican 3,520 19.9 Dennis Levy Green 661 3.7 17,715 votes, 100% reporting (98 of 98 precincts) The winning margin was not very large and 17,715 votes were cast. Thus, if it is deemed in our best interest, we may be able to “influence” this district in future elections. Since none of these candidates responded to our questionnaire, we do not know if Alice Cancel or any of the others who ran, would be harmful to our dove initiative and other agenda matters like the state pheasant farm. Source: Election results from The Associated Press. Non-presidential races are called by A.P. http://www.nytimes.com/elections/results/new-york NY Dove Hunting Questionnaire and Report on Candidates: http://nydovehunting.weebly.com/candidate-responses-or-lack-thereof.html http://nydovehunting.weebly.com/candidate-questionnaire.html

ok gus, whatever you say......

Still counting the Special Elections - Nothing in Senate 9 is not reported yet - this is the district we identified an anti-hunter, in red. State Senate DISTRICT 9 Special Election CANDIDATES PARTY VOTE PCT. Laurence Hirsch Green 0 0.0% ANTI-HUNTER Todd Kaminsky Democrat 0 0.0 Christopher McGrath Republican 0 0.0 0% reporting (0 of 283 precincts) State Assembly DISTRICT 59 Special Election CANDIDATES PARTY VOTE PCT. Jaime Williams Democrat 816 56.3% Jeffrey Ferretti Republican 634 43.7 1,450 votes, 20% reporting (17 of 87 precincts) DISTRICT 62 Special Election CANDIDATES PARTY Ronald Castorina Uncontested Republican DISTRICT 65 Special Election CANDIDATES PARTY VOTE PCT. Alice Cancel Democrat 1,480 39.9% Yuh-Line Niou Working Families 1,371 37.0 Lester Chang Republican 738 19.9 Dennis Levy Green 117 3.2 3,706 votes, 41% reporting (40 of 98 precincts)

Yeah, like this is not a hunting site.... News Flash - the biggest impact on HUNTING laws in NY is the NYC Assembly. There are three special elections today for seats in the NYC Assembly.In addition there is another for a senate seat on Long Island which is almost as significant to hunting - perhaps more because a democrat win will shift the balance of power in the senate. Yup, you high jacked the thread alright...

NOT Just Presidential Elections Today! If you live in certain districts of NYC and Long Island there are several State - Level Special Elections which can eventually impact hunting policy in NY! Read this and then go vote before 9 PM tonight! http://nydovehunting.weebly.com/candidate-responses-or-lack-thereof.html

Are you in Assembly District 59? If so there is a Special Election to fill the vacancy. Unfortunately neither candidate responded to our questionnaire, so we know nothing about their attitudes toward hunting. Perhaps if there is a third candidate we did not find out about vote for him or her.

Not really my concern what the OP does with his land or money. My reply was directed at Doewhacker because he seemed to be resonating something I have heard among his dog circles which is not correct. Namely that pheasant require grain (corn or the similar). Since Doewhacker is not missing any cylinders I gave him the info in a broad, comprehensive context. Others, who are missing a few cylinders, can't handle it, as usual. By the way OP, what kind of dogs do you run?

Germane to the subject of hunting in NY, there are also State Level Special Elections being held today in a few districts in NYC and Long Island. NY Dove Hunting sent questionnaires to the candidates running in those special elections and published a report. We have identified one anti-hunter. Other candidates who have not responded to our questionnaire are noted. Failure to respond is usually not a favorable sign. We will continue this effort through the November elections and update the report, so bookmark this link. To read the report go to this link: http://nydovehunting.weebly.com/candidate-responses-or-lack-thereof.html

The DEC raises three strains: Chinese, Manchurian, and Chinese X Manchurian. Pheasant exploit grain crops, but they are not dependent on them. They do just fine in grassland or similar areas without crop farming. They eat a varied diet and are not obligated to feeding on grain. Some game birds like the prairie chicken do better on native grasslands without crop farming. Pheasant are different and do well in agricultural areas, provided they are not intensely farmed. Still other game birds such as gray partridge and mourning dove can handle intensely farmed landscapes better than pheasant. Farming created vacant ecological niches less suitable for the native prairie chicken, sharp-tailed grouse, and heath hen. Pheasant and gray partridge were introduced and filled those vacant niches. As farming practices changed, pheasant did not thrive as well, although gray partridge handle clean farming somewhat better. Mourning doves are much more adaptable and continued to increase their population and distribution under modern farming practices. New farming practices were just the beginning of the problem. Following new farming practices came less overall farmland, and much of what remained was fragmented. Even more factors played in, like fire control which allowed grasslands to mature into forest. The practices of beaver control and tree planting are not always all they are cracked up to be either. Even in the face of development, fragmentation, forest maturation, clean farming, and fire control; mourning dove populations continue to thrive. There are many reasons for why MD differ from RNP, GP, PC, STG. A few key differences that give them an advantage are: Although they do nest on the ground, they will nest in trees.Where there are no tress they can nest on the ground... That allows doves to have an extremely wide distribution. They are not impacted by fragmentation - they do not walk their broods across highways for example. When the young of the year disperse from their parents they have a much easier time finding suitable habitat than young ruffed grouse do, and most will form flocks and migrate their first year anyway - a bit different than the grouses strategy. Fragmentation is not the kiss of death for doves as it is other game birds.... Most mourning doves migrate They produce "crop milk" so they do not require eating insects during reproduction or as chicks, thus pesticide use and other clean farming practices does not limit their reproduction, although herbicide application can because they forage on seeds. Herbicide reduces seeds, as pesticides reduce insects. Doves feed on exposed bare ground characteristic of clean farming. Clean farming removes most of the native plant ("weed") seeds doves naturally eat, but they still find ample weed seeds around human activity including farming, and they of course eat any waste grain left on the bare soil. Other game birds get picked of by predators in the open, so do doves, but for whatever reason that has not limited dove populations. When food is depleted or covered by snow they just migrate. That gives them an edge over non-migratory game birds. Although if in good condition in the autumn, pheasant, grouse etc... can live for 30 days without food even in severe cold, which might allow them to survive over winter, however, if the hens are underweight during breeding season they do not lay as many eggs.

It has been busy, and some things got neglected….. Although “fundraising” should be a year-round endeavor, and most non-profit organizations spend 99% of their time and effort fundraising, NY Dove Hunting does not…. One factor to be aware of is the June 1 deadline for advertisements for the Regulation Guide which we must deal with…. Most of what we have studied about businesses including non-profits; is that advertising expense should double in year two…. We have collected slightly more than last year and put a little more of our own money into Facebook ads this year, but we are not close to doubling our advertisement investment…. So what if I paid for a year’s worth of Facebook advertising ($365) and half of the Regulation Guide advertisement ($400)…. Adjusting for inflation, that is about $800… For one year…. However over 5 years it is $4,000…. Not going to happen…. Certain circumstances developed just prior and during to our advertising donation push which required action. What has erupted which diverted our attention from “fundraising?” · Humane Lobby Day · DEC Webless Migratory Game Bird Survey · NY State Special Elections being held on April 19 in conjunction with the presidential primary · Developing animated cartoons · Developed a Coalition of organizations and a coalition letter in support of dove hunting · Developed a candidate survey and grade page The bullet pointed matters are in addition to the routine efforts we make, so combined it was a lot. Bottom line here is we need advertising funds and we need them at the latest by May 21. To get involved and learn how you can help go to the following two links for information: http://nydovehunting.weebly.com/please-volunteer.html http://nydovehunting.weebly.com/help-fund-ny-dove-hunting-ad.html

If you do not allow or even encourage ad blocking then your site will continue to repel woman, and parents will not allow children on your site. Either will schools and youth centers. We have several websites - and with the amount of traffic they generate I could buy a new truck in a few years if we allowed google ads and/or accepted advertisers. In order to maintain integrity and not stray from our purpose we do not however. I think there are other categories you could white list and black list on here that are more significant. And it is pretty hard to promote a non-profit venture on for profit channels .... And what is up with throttling the personal messages? Just what does that accomplish? There are far too many non - hunters, antis and trolls online, it has reached the point where talking privately is needed. Content usually is not free either. Interesting all it takes is a click or any random blabber for a google ad reward though.

Here is a link to our politico questionnaire and a separate link were we publish the responses (1 so far), who we sent a questionnaire, and our Grade for each politician - we only gave out an F minus so far..... These two pages will be interesting and useful reading as the data accumulates over the months. If you hear of any vacancies or contested districts, please gather as much information as you can and get it to me. Feel free to just send the candidate the link, just let me know so we do not duplicate each others efforts and send someone extra mail. Here are the links: Candidate Questionnaire: http://nydovehunting.weebly.com/candidate-questionnaire.html Candidate Responses, List, and Grade: http://nydovehunting.weebly.com/candidate-responses-or-lack-thereof.html

We automated this project - Here is a link to our politico questionnaire and a separate link were we publish the responses (1 so far), who we sent a questionnaire, and our Grade for each politician - we only gave out an F minus so far..... These two pages will be interesting and useful reading as the data accumulates over the months. If you hear of any vacancies or contested districts, please gather as much information as you can and get it to me. Feel free to just send the candidate the link, just let me know so we do not duplicate each others efforts and send someone extra mail. Here are the links: Candidate Questionnaire: http://nydovehunting.weebly.com/candidate-questionnaire.html Candidate Responses, List, and Grade: http://nydovehunting.weebly.com/candidate-responses-or-lack-thereof.html

I vote on the issues period. I do not vote on ideology. Plus - you cant pass anything in NY without the Democrats, here is why: you need 76 votes in the assembly to have a one vote majority, there are 65 assembly seats in NYC alone.... Do a little homework. You should check this out: Here is a link to our politico questionnaire and a separate link were we publish the responses (1 so far), who we sent a questionnaire, and our Grade for each politician - we only gave out an F minus so far..... These two pages will be interesting and useful reading as the data accumulates over the months. If you hear of any vacancies or contested districts, please gather as much information as you can and get it to me. Feel free to just send the candidate the link, just let me know so we do not duplicate each others efforts and send someone extra mail. Here are the links: Candidate Questionnaire: http://nydovehunting.weebly.com/candidate-questionnaire.html Candidate Responses, List, and Grade: http://nydovehunting.weebly.com/candidate-responses-or-lack-thereof.html

Here is a link to our politico questionnaire and a separate link were we publish the responses (1 so far), who we sent a questionnaire, and our Grade for each politician - we only gave out an F minus so far..... These two pages will be interesting and useful reading as the data accumulates over the months. If you hear of any vacancies or contested districts, please gather as much information as you can and get it to me. Feel free to just send the candidate the link, just let me know so we do not duplicate each others efforts and send someone extra mail. Here are the links: Candidate Questionnaire: http://nydovehunting.weebly.com/candidate-questionnaire.html Candidate Responses, List, and Grade: http://nydovehunting.weebly.com/candidate-responses-or-lack-thereof.html

Below is the one response we received from the three candidates so far. It is from Lawrence Seth Hirsch who is running as the green party candidate. April 15, 2016 at 12:22 PM EQUUS BLOODSTOCK LLC. LAURENCE SETH HIRSH 901 KILMER LANE NORTH WOODMERE, NEW YORK 11581-3103 CELL:(516)448-7498 PH+FAX:(516)791-6625 E-MAIL: @YAHOO.COM * Do you or anyone in your immediate family hunt, with or without a dog? NO * Do you or anyone in your immediate family hunt with a dog? NO Do you philosophically support any animal rights or animal protection organizations? If so, please identify the organizations. YES. I support PETA (People for rthical Treatment of Animals), NSAL (North Shore Animal League), The Fund for Animals, International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), several farm sanctuaries, & the ASPCA. * Do any animal rights or animal protection organizations endorse you as a candidate or financially support your campaign? NO. NOT YET. * Do you support the states' prerogatives to manage their resident wildlife populations and establish local hunting regulations, without ideological interference? YES, I support state's prerogatives to manage resident wildlife populations, but I don't support hunting in general. I'm an animal rights activist, and truly believe hunting is a cruel sport. What is your position on the following hunting related issues? 1. Reinstating mourning dove hunting in NY. 2. Protecting the state pheasant stocking program and Reynold’s State Pheasant Farm. 3. Preserving the traditions of hunting upland game birds, webless migratory game birds, and waterfowl. 4. Creating Gun Dog Training areas on DEC owned public hunting lands. I do NOT support the cruel sport of mourning dove hunting, or a pheasant stocking programming for hunting, and certainly NOT with Taxpayer money !!!.

NY Dove Hunting Candidate Questionnaire Re: Primary Election New York State District Dear As a candidate the District, you've indicated your views on a number of issues facing voters. NY Dove Hunting would like to better understand your position and feelings on mourning dove hunting, the state pheasant stocking program, and the hunting of woodcock, snipe, and rails. In the early 1900’s most states banned wild turkey hunting and around 25 banned mourning dove hunting. Most of these bans were reversed between 1970 and 1995. Today, wild turkey hunting is allowed in 49 states and mourning dove hunting is allowed in 41 states. NY’s first modern wild turkey hunting season was in the fall of 1959; one year after the Legislature granted the Conservation Department the authority to regulate turkey hunting. The Legislature has not however, authorized the DEC to set a mourning dove hunting season. Never the less, there is an interest in dove hunting among some NY hunters and mourning dove populations can indeed sustain hunting in NY. Please refer to the attached Fact Sheet or go to : http://nydovehunting.weebly.com/mourning-dove-fact-sheet.htmlfor specific information. Regulated pheasant hunting has occurred in New York since 1908. The Richard E. Reynolds state pheasant farm has been in operation since 1927. Pheasant hunting has been a tradition in New York for over 100 years. According to the latest national survey of wildlife dependent recreation; on average pheasant hunters spend $1,451 per hunter, per year. That is broken down into; $676 for non-dog hunting related expenses, and $775 dollars in hunting dog related expenses per hunter, per year. Reynold's Pheasant Farm supports 4 full-time jobs and 10 temporary jobs. The cost per hunter to support these jobs is between 33 cents and $1.30. The cost of Reynold's Pheasant Farm, based on a 3 year average of 560,000 hunting licenses bought by both resident and non-resident hunters, is $1.30 per hunter. However, that does not factor in federal wildlife restoration grants. If the DEC applies for and receives a federal grant for its pheasant program, based on the matching dollars formula, the actual cost to operate the pheasant farm is 33 cents per hunter. NY Dove Hunting is a non-partisan group of men and women involved in bird hunting with gun dogs such as spaniels, retrievers, and pointers. I'm a NYDH volunteer. Many other voters and I would like to learn more of your opinion of and relationship with so called "animal rights" organizations and other organizations such as the Audubon Society or its chapters. Please take the opportunity to review and respond to this questionnaire so that your potential constituents may better know your opinions on the important topics affecting us. The April 19 primary is soon. Kindly reply before that date if at all possible. If this date isn't feasible for you, please indicate when I may look forward to your response. * Do you or anyone in your immediate family hunt, with or without a dog? * Do you or anyone in your immediate family hunt with a dog? Do you philosophically support any animal rights or animal protection organizations? If so, please identify the organizations. * Do any animal rights or animal protection organizations endorse you as a candidate or financially support your campaign? * Do you support the states' prerogatives to manage their resident wildlife populations and establish local hunting regulations, without ideological interference? What is your position on the following hunting related issues? 1. Reinstating mourning dove hunting in NY. 2. Protecting the state pheasant stocking program and Reynold’s State Pheasant Farm. 3. Preserving the traditions of hunting upland game birds, webless migratory game birds, and waterfowl. 4. Creating Gun Dog Training areas on DEC owned public hunting lands. All candidate responses, with failures to respond noted, will be summarized and distributed to assist voters in determining which candidates they might support in the upcoming elections. Your timely reply will be greatly appreciated. Questionnaire responses may be emailed to the NY Dove Hunting from this link: http://nydovehunting.weebly.com/contact-us.html Should you have any questions, please contact me at that same address. Thank you for your cooperation. Sincerely, Mike Rossi NY Dove Hunting http://nydovehunting.weebly.com/

NY Dove Hunting is surveying the candidates in the special election held April 19, 2016. One of the regions where a special election is being held is senate district 9, which is around the towns of Garden City, Hemstead, and Long Beach. We sent the three candidates who we are aware of that are seeking this office our questionnaire. I will post the actual questionnaire and then the responses we get. We already got one - and the bottom line is do NOT vote for Seth (Lawrence) Hirsh!

Senate Majority up for grabs April 19, 2016! Does NY Dove Hunting care? Not really, but loss of republican control is the best way to get the attention of the NY hunter. We do not care if a republican or a democrat is elected, however, we are evaluating the attitudes candidates on the issues concerning our agenda. If our queries are answered ( and they probably will not be) we will recommend which candidate to vote for. We do note that the map does show this looks like prime waterfowl hunting area, and any local ordinances there prohibiting waterfowl hunting would mean a significant loss of local hunting opportunity – if those ordinances are not already in place, which may be the case – info from locals on this appreciated. FIRST: It is FALSE that there is an (effective) Republican Majority in the NYS Senate. Here are the FACTS: Total Senate Seats = 63 Republicans = Democrats Republicans = 31 Democrats = 31 Vacant = 1 What seat is vacant? Senate district 9 which is southwest Nassau county Long Island. This seat was won by Republican Skelos 55% to 44% and 63% to 33% and 61% to 39%. Demographics of senate district 9: White/Caucasian: 67% Democrats = 92,971 or 41% of the vote Republicans = 74,764 or 33% of the vote Potential Candidates include Brian Curran, who indeed voted YES on the SAFE ACT. District map: http://statisticalatlas.com/state-upper-legislative-district/New-York/District-9/Overview The Candidates: http://www.nassaucountyny.gov/DocumentCenter/View/15252 The New York Peconic County Amendment may appear on the November 8, 2016 ballot Read about it here: https://ballotpedia.org/New_York_Peconic_County_Amendment_(2016) This creates a new county on Long Island. NY Dove Hunting seeks to opinion of locals on this proposal. Use our website to contact us please: http://nydovehunting.weebly.com/contact-us.html In any event, NY Dove Hunting is sending all of the candidates a questionnaire about their attitudes toward dove hunting, pheasant stocking, and bird hunting opportunities. Unfortunately, candidates and incumbents usually ignore our questionnaires. We will post the responses or indicate failure to respond on our website in the near future.

Senate Majority up for grabs April 19, 2016! Does NY Dove Hunting care? Not really, but loss of republican control is the best way to get the attention of the NY hunter. We do not care if a republican or a democrat is elected, however, we are evaluating the attitudes candidates on the issues concerning our agenda. If our queries are answered ( and they probably will not be) we will recommend which candidate to vote for. We do note that the map does show this looks like prime waterfowl hunting area, and any local ordinances there prohibiting waterfowl hunting would mean a significant loss of local hunting opportunity – if those ordinances are not already in place, which may be the case – info from locals on this appreciated. FIRST: It is FALSE that there is an (effective) Republican Majority in the NYS Senate. Here are the FACTS: Total Senate Seats = 63 Republicans = Democrats Republicans = 31 Democrats = 31 Vacant = 1 What seat is vacant? Senate district 9 which is southwest Nassau county Long Island. This seat was won by Republican Skelos 55% to 44% and 63% to 33% and 61% to 39%. Demographics of senate district 9: White/Caucasian: 67% Democrats = 92,971 or 41% of the vote Republicans = 74,764 or 33% of the vote Potential Candidates include Brian Curran, who indeed voted YES on the SAFE ACT. District map: http://statisticalatlas.com/state-upper-legislative-district/New-York/District-9/Overview The Candidates: http://www.nassaucountyny.gov/DocumentCenter/View/15252 The New York Peconic County Amendment may appear on the November 8, 2016 ballot Read about it here: https://ballotpedia.org/New_York_Peconic_County_Amendment_(2016) This creates a new county on Long Island. NY Dove Hunting seeks to opinion of locals on this proposal. Use our website to contact us please: http://nydovehunting.weebly.com/contact-us.html In any event, NY Dove Hunting is sending all of the candidates a questionnaire about their attitudes toward dove hunting, pheasant stocking, and bird hunting opportunities. Unfortunately, candidates and incumbents usually ignore our questionnaires. We will post the responses or indicate failure to respond on our website in the near future.

The Parent organization of Delta Waterfowl is promoting our petition among its NY members. Meanwhile the Connecticut Chapter has launched their own dove initiative. Here is the article from Delta Waterfowl: http://www.deltawaterfowl.org/news/article/2016/04/07/take-action-to-help-establish-a-dove-season-in-new-york