HuntingNY-News

The DEC is looking for participants in its Angler Diary Cooperator Program - particularly those who fish Cayuga, Owasco, Skaneateles and Otisco Lakes. For more, call 1-607-753-3095, extension 213. CNY FISHING REPORT Bait stores (list and map). LAKE ONTARIO Salmon are being caught 90 to 120 feet down over 120 to 150 feet of water. The cold water may have shifted because of the wind though, so keep searching if not catching fish. Salmon are also starting to stage around river mouths like the Oswego and Salmon. Good baits continue to be spoons, flashers and cut-bait, flashers and whole alewives, and flashers and flies. Green and white had been productive colors. Anglers are getting baits down with variety of methods such as wire and Dipsey divers (about 250 to 300 feet back), copper (500 feet) and downriggers. SALMON RIVER There are a few salmon being reported in the lower river. This early salmon fishing is extremely "hit or miss", so try various spots. OSWEGO RIVER Smallmouth bass are biting on crankbaits, minnows, crayfish and spinnerbaits. Catfish and sheepshead (freshwater drum) are hitting on crayfish or night crawlers. There have been a few early salmon reported in the river. ONEIDA LAKE The algal bloom is slowly winding down. Some walleye are still being taken in 25-30 feet of water on black & purple bucktail jigs tipped with night crawler and blade baits. Some big yellow perch are also being taken mixed in with the walleye. Slowing down and fishing small minnows has been working once perch are found. Keep an eye out for birds diving, as bass chase small gizzard shad to the surface birds will often be seen feeding in the area. Casting topwaters or lipless crankbaits can work well for these schooling bass. CAYUGA LAKE Weeds and other debris are still a nuisance but water fleas are becoming less of a problem. If still having problems with fleas, try using flea flicker line or going to a heavier pound test line (25-30#) helps some with the fleas, as does using a trolling method where your line is running more horizontal than vertical. For example: using wire and Dipsey diver instead of a downrigger. Vertical jigging is also an option instead of trolling if fleas become to aggravating. Little has changed from last week, trolling down 70 to 100 feet over 80 to 120 feet of water with spoons or flasher and flies, fished off downriggers, copper wire, or Dipsey divers is still working for lake trout. Vertical jigging is also working for lake trout in 85 to 115 feet of water. Bass and panfish are still being caught on the north end in 10-15 feet of water. SENECA LAKE The strong winds made fishing difficult lately. ake trout are being taken 80 to 120 feet down over 130 to 200 feet of water on spoons and flasher and flies. Running Dipseys back 230 to 270 feet has been a good starting point, as is running copper out 300 feet. OTISCO LAKE Fishing has been slow on Otisco. Trolling early or late in the day is producing a few walleye and an occasional brown trout. Fishing down 25 to 0 feet with crankbaits, stickbaits or worm harnessesfor the walleye and stickbaits or spoons for brown trout. SKANEATELES LAKE Fishing small spoons or stickbaits down 35 to 50 feet has been working for lake trout. Smallmouth bass are being taken on tube jigs, stick worms (Senko style baits) and drop-shot rigs out to 35 feet of water. For those using live bait, the bass are really nailing the crayfish lately -- and worms, fished off the bottom, are always a good choice. SANDY POND: Fishing continues to be slow on the pond, but fishing early or late in the day is still producing some largemouth bass. ST. LAWRENCE RIVER Bass continue to be caught in deeper water, getting as deep as 35-40 feet. Northern pike bite continues to be strong, with many being caught on the edge of weedlines, anywhere from 8 to 20 feet. Try a Rapala Huskie Jerk lure. Many successful bass anglers are using live crayfish. Walleyes are being caught in the early morning or evening. A popular lure has been the Jigfish. SODUS BAY Panfish are being taken on small jigs, minnows and worms. Bass fishing has been good on Senko-style baits and weed-less frogs. WHITNEY POINT RESERVOIR Anglers are getting walleye, crappie, smallmouth bass, bluegills and catfish. For the walleye try drifting or anchoring with night crawlers, or trolling/casting crankbaits or worm harnesses. Smallmouth bass continue to hit on crankbaits but some are also being caught on night crawlers. Night crawlers have also been working well for bluegills, crappie and catfish. ** The DEC is looking for participants in its Angler Diary Cooperator Program - particularly those who fish Cayuga, Owasco, Skaneateles and Otisco Lakes. For more, call 1-607-753-3095, extension 213. View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog

Pathfinder now leads the Northern Division. Pompey is on top of the Southern Division CENTRAL NEW YORK TRAP LEAGUE RESULTS OF WEEK 19 (Aug. 20) NORTHERN DIVISION CENTRAL SQUARE (187 ) AT SOUTH SHORE (198) NORTH SPORTSMAN (193) AT PATHFINDER (200) TOAD HARBOR (bye) SOUTHERN DIVISION POMPEY (200) AT SKANEATELES (197) THREE RIVERS (196) AT CAMILLUS (193) DEWITT (196) AT BRIDGEPORT (199) SHOOTERS WHO HIT 25 OUT 25 CLAYS (Where 50s are indicated, that means the shooter has hit 25 out of 25 two weeks in a row) BRIDGEPORT- VINCE VALOIS- JIM TONER- CHUCK LADUE- JOE ST. PIERRE- RICK TOSSON-KATHY HART- TOM CROWELL CAMILLUS- TOM ANTHONY- AL REICH CENTRAL SQUARE- NONE DEWITT- MARTY DIAMOND- JIM TAYLOR- DON ZACHARIAS-RICK KENYON NORTH SPORTSMAN- TIM RODER- BILL BENEDICT- KYLE JONES PATHFINDER- 50'S- JOHN RUDY SR.- 25'S- JOE PIETROWSKI- TIM NOTTELL- STEVE MACEWEN - DOUG CARROLL- JIM DAVIES- JOHN WALLACE- NORM NELSON- JOHN FISH- DAVE BROWN POMPEY- 50'S- JEFF BELL- TODD WAY- 25'S- BETH BRUCE- JEFF CAIN- TROY LEFEBVRE- CLIFF HAAF - CHUCK HAAF- RALPH BAKER- PAUL COSTELLO SKANEATELES- RICH BOBBETT- DAVID BARRON- JIM FELLOWS- URB WORMER- JIM DRIES SOUTH SHORE- RON MATTIS- RON INCE- DOUG ADOLF- JIM PROCTOR- MARK DITTLY- FRANK CROCE THREE RIVERS- 50'S- JOE FREDERICKS-25'S- WES WOOLRIDGE SR.- JARED MCCLELLAN- FRAN LIGHTENFIELD TOAD HARBOR- BYE * RESULTS COURTESY OF DICK MASTERPOLE View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog

It's also the place where visitors can buy their state fishing, hunting and trapping licenses, and where there's a display on the wall of many replicas of state record-sized fish. The state Department of Environmental Conservation fish aquarium building, one of the most popular attractions at the state fair, is sandwiched between the Times Warner and the Dairy buildings at the state fairgrounds. The building contains five, 1,000-gallon tanks. In four are freshwater fish representing a good sampling of the state's freshwater fishery. The other contains a sampling of turtles and frogs. It's also the place where visitors can buy their state fishing, hunting and trapping licenses, and where there's a display on the wall of many replicas of state record-sized fish. The five aquaria, though, are the big draw. "If you took a survey of those who visit the fair, the aquaria are probably the number one thing for people to see," said Carl Rathje, the assistant director of the DEC's Oneida Hatchery in Constantia, who has been in charge of setting up the live fish display at the fair since 1981. He was interviewed earlier this week as a small, truck-load of trout were being unloaded and placed in one of the tanks. John Gray, a DEC fish culturist from the Oneida Fish Hatchery handles a net full of trout for the DEC aquarium at the New York State Fair.Mike Greenlar | [email protected] Q: What's involved in setting up these aquariums each year? A: They were built in the 1940s or 50s and are pretty antiquated. They remain here all year. We have to come down here more than a week before the fair begins, put water in them and clean them out. We set up filtering system in each one using a regular pool filter, along with placing chiller units in each one to keep the water at a desired temperature. Its city water and we add a chemical to take the chlorine out. Where do you get the fish? Most of the fish are netted out of Oneida Lake. They're constantly being recycled in and out every few days. They're returned back to the lake, and new ones are put in to replace them. We try to get the whole gamut of what's in New York state as far as warm water fish, including game fish like small and largemouth bass, pickerel, northern pike, walleye, along with all sorts of panfish, carp, suckers, bullheads, freshwater drum. We also put in a couple of exotic species - a sturgeon and a paddlefish, which we raise at the Oneida hatchery. We've had tiger muskie in here before, but the bigger the fish, the harder it is to handle them. Generally, it's not feasible to bring in large game fish. We just want to get a representative sample. Apart from them, we have large, brood (breeder) trout and yearling trout that we truck in from the DEC fish hatchery in Randolph at the western end of the state. There's 18 of those this year. We have brown, brook and rainbow trout. In total, there's as many as 100 fish in these tanks. What's the water temperature? We keep it between 50 and 60 degrees for the trout, and from 60 to 70 degrees for all the other fish. Ever have any breakdowns, such as power outages where fish die? What do you do with the dead fish? Over the years we've had many situations. When I first started working here I was trained by this older guy and we used to sleep upstairs all night, staying here 24 hours. I remember coming down in the morning and the power had gone out ove night. We lost all the trout. Before the fair opened, we had to call another hatchery to bring new fish down and get them in the tank before the fair opened at 10. When fish die, we generally put them on ice and return them to the hatchery. On occasions, we've given some of our mortalities to the guy who has the raptors (birds of prey) at the fair. He feeds them to his birds. Where do you get the frogs and turtles? The turtles (there's four different species) are supplied by one of our workers Rickey (Bryant). There his pets. The frogs we catch ourselves in the creek by the hatchery. And what about all those impressive replicas of the state- record fish? My wife, Margaret, who's a taxidermist, did every one of them. View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog

Topics of discussion will include: Updates of waterfowl management issues in the Atlantic Flyway and this year's tentative waterfowl hunting seasons and bag limits. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) today announced an upcoming waterfowl hunter informational meeting set for 7 to 9 p.m. Sept. 12 at the Montezuma Audubon Center in Savannah in Wayne County. The meeting is one of two scheduled across the state. The other is set for 7 to 9 p.m. Aug. 29 at the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge headquarters in Alabama in Genesee County. The following is a DEC press release: These meetings will focus on topics of interest to waterfowl hunters in Western New York and the Iroquois and Montezuma NWR region. Topics of interest will include: • Highlights of waterfowl management and research programs at Iroquois NWR, Tonawanda and Oak Orchard Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs), Montezuma NWR and Northern Montezuma WMA; • Regional and statewide waterfowl news and updates; • Atlantic Flyway news; • Waterfowl population status survey results; • The New York waterfowl hunting season-setting process; and, • Tentative 2013-14 duck and goose hunting seasons. Wildlife biologists from Iroquois and Montezuma NWRs and DEC will present results of local and international surveys of waterfowl breeding populations and discuss habitat conditions and habitat management efforts. Updates of waterfowl management issues in the Atlantic Flyway will also be discussed, and this year's tentative waterfowl hunting seasons and bag limits will be covered. The Montezuma Audubon Center is located at 2295 St. Rt. 89, Savannah. For more, call View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog

Among the usual exhibits, the DEC will be showcasing a new 248-page New York Wildlife Viewing Guide and hosting an exhibit on the progress to restore Onondaga Lake. The following is a DEC press release: The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) will once again have a strong presence at the Great New York State Fair in Syracuse, August 22 - September 2, showcasing a new 248-page New York Wildlife Viewing Guide and hosting an exhibit on the progress to restore Onondaga Lake. The new Wildlife Viewing Guide features maps and information on more than 110 New York sites across the state that offer bird watching, nature walks, viewing of unique and rare species and the spectacular landscapes where they live. Fairgoers can obtain a free copy of the Guide by subscribing to the Conservationist, DEC's award-winning magazine about New York's natural resources and the environment. A one-year subscription, along with the Guide, is just $12 during the Fair. The regular price for the guide alone is $14.95. Fairgoers can pick up their copy of the New York Wildlife Viewing Guide at the DEC Aquarium Building or the New York State Parks Visitors Center, both adjacent to the Chevy Court. Also new at the Fair this year will be a major exhibit on the progress to restore and revitalize Onondaga Lake. "Onondaga Lake: A Fresh Gateway to a New New York" will explain how cleanup efforts by DEC and state and local partners are benefiting the entire region and providing for future economic vitality. The exhibit, which includes more than 3,000 sq. ft. of space, will be located in the Center of Progress Building. DEC will continue to operate popular exhibits from years past at both the Aquarium Building and the Log Cabin Building, which will be open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Aquarium Building At the Aquarium Building, live fish will be on display in large tanks. Fairgoers can purchase their hunting and fishing licenses every day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Aquarium Building. A biologist will be available to answer hunting and fishing questions, and Sportsmen's Education staff will provide information on hunting safety and education classes offered for those seeking a hunting license. The New York Conservation Officer's Association will also be represented, and Environmental Conservation Officers (ECOs) will also be on hand to talk to the public about their work and answer questions pertaining to environmental law. The DEC Log Cabin At the DEC Log Cabin, the Division of Lands and Forest's Saratoga Tree Nursery will have free tree seedling giveaways daily beginning at 10:00 a.m. There will also be information on DEC-managed recreational land throughout the State and information on recreational opportunities available such as: hiking, mountain biking, hunting, fishing, snowmobiling, camping and much more. DEC's Recreation Office will provide camping brochures and maps and demonstrate how to use DEC's website to access detailed information to plan an outdoor adventure. Fairgoers can obtain information regarding the emerald ash borer and other invasive species that pose a threat to New York. Staff will be available throughout the day to educate the public about DEC's efforts to control these invasive insects and what one should do if they discover these pests. Also in the Log Cabin, the Big Buck Club will have a display and will be available to answer questions. DEC's Watchable Wildlife Program and the New York State Forest Rangers will also have displays on site. In addition, the Finger Lakes Trail Conference, located on the nature trail lean-to that runs behind the log cabin, will offer tips on hiking, camping and exploring the great outdoors. View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog

Statewide, the DEC last year sold a total of 823,478 fishing licenses, 507,801 hunting licenses and 33,873 trapping licenses. The state fair opens Thursday and once again state fishing, hunting and trapping licenses will be on sale at the DEC building, which is next to the Dairy Building. Look for the big pillars. Sportsmen and women can buy their licenses from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day the fair is open. Statewide, the DEC last year sold a total of 823,478 fishing licenses, 507,801 hunting licenses and 33,873 trapping licenses. In Region 7, there were 113,154 fishing licenses, 75,303 hunting licenses and 4,863 trapping licenses sold. View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog

They caught two nice-sized ones within 10 minutes of each other. From left, Justin and Jeff Seltzer, of Cicero, caught these northern pike on Black Lake recently. The boy's fish measured 29 inches, and the father's was 25 inches. The son caught caught his on a yellow spinner bait; the father used a black and yellow-striped rubber worm. The amazing part, the father said, is that they caught them less than 10 minutes apart from each other. View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog

It was a sunfish. The boy caught the fish on Oneida Lake. Lisa Adams Fitzgerald, of Cicero, wrote: "David, I had to submit this pic of my great nephew, Zackary Earl Watt, 2 1/2, of Liverpool. "This was his first catch ever ! He was so excited. It was caught in the backyard of this great grandmother's house on Oneida Lake. " We talked about catch and release......never to early to start educating the young ones. Hope all the readers enjoy this pic as much as I !" View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog

It showed up right behind her at her family's lakefront home on Skaneateles Lake in Mandana. Sandy Buerkle, my neighbor in Mandana, wrote the following and included several pictures taken on a video. She wrote: "I was at our family's lakefront in Mandana this afternoon and heard a thump behind me. I turned and here was this big bird. I was more afraid of it that it was of me, that's for sure! It stood there while I went for my camera. I got some great shots which I strung together and posted. What kind of hawk is this? I forwarded the video to veteran bird expert, Laura Erickson. She wrote the following: "It's a young, red-tailed hawk--it was hatched this year, so the tail feathers are not at all red. As these feathers fall out and are replaced in molt, the new ones will come in red. I can tell it's a red-tail by the distinct "belly band"--those darkish feathers wrapping around the belly." View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog

The action at Turning Stone starts Friday evening. This weekend's running scene in Central New York features three races on three days at the Turning Stone Casino. Other events include a 15K run in Fulton, along with 5 K races in Marcellus, Fulton and the Inner Harbor in Syracuse. 1). Turning Stone Races. Three events beginning with a 5K at 5 p.m. Friday, a 10 K at 8:30 a.m. Saturday and a half marathon at 8 a.m. Sunday - all at the Turning Stone Resort in Verona. For more, see turningstoneraces.com. 2). Marcellus Rotary "Run for the Woods," check-in time is from 7:45 to 8:45 a.m Saturday at Marcellus Park. 1K fun run starts at 8:30 a.m. on gravel path at the upper part of the park; the 5K run starts at 9 a.m. on Platt Road near the upper part of the park. For more see, rotarydistrict7150.org. 3). Loop around the Lake, Saturday, with all events starting at the Fulton War Memorial. Features a 15K run/5k run and Kids Fun Run. The kid's race starts at 8 a.m., the adult races at 8:30 a.m. The 15K loop travels around Lake Neahtawanta. For more, see fultonymca.com. 4). Inner Harbor 5K , begins at 9 a.m. Sunday. The race starts at the Inner Harbor area in Syracuse, and continues through Leavenworth Park and the Creekwalk. This race is part of the Syrathon race series,which is designed to showcase Syracuse's park system. For more, see fleetfeetsyracuse.com or email. [email protected]. Last weekend's results 1). Willow Bay 5K Run and Fitness Walk for Women, was held Saturday at Willow Bay in Onondaga Lake Park in Liverpool. For final results, see syracusechargers.org/willow/ 2). The Silver Scorcher, featuring 5 and 10K runs, was held Saturday at the Community Activity Center in Sherrill. For final results, see leonetiming.com. 3). Du 'Nango For a Cure, a duathlon (run and bike) race, was held Saturday at Sullivan Park in Chittenango. The race was a 2.5-mile run, followed by a 14.3-mile bike, with a 2.5 mile run at the end. One, two or three person teams entered. Final results were not available Monday. For more on this event, see dunangoforacure.com. 4). Upstate Chiropractic Beaver Lake Run, (5 and 10 K races), held Sunday at the Beaver Lake Nature Center in Baldwinsville. For final results, see leonetiming.com. View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog

In solving the deer problem in the city of Syracuse, the city is most likely going to have to foot the majority of the bill. In addition, it'll probably take a multi-faceted approach that will have to be continued indefinitely, the panelists said. It won't be a 'one shot' deal. A panel of local experts on the subject of "Urban Wildlife" agreed on several points Thursday when it came to the large numbers of deer currently living in the city of Syracuse -- and how to deal with them. The city is most likely going to have to foot the majority of the bill. In addition, it'll take a multi-faceted approach that will have to be continued indefinitely, the panelists said. A big problem, they stressed, will be getting a consensus in the community about what measures will be taken. The panel consisted of Steve Joule, wildlife manager for Region 7 of the state Department of Environmental Conservation; Brian Underwood, a SUNY ESF/U.S. Geological Survey wildlife biologist with a background of more than 30 years of studying deer, particularly those in urban/suburban settings, and Al LaFrance, of Al's Critter Solutions, a local animal nuisance control business. The hour-long, discussion was held at the Syracuse Media Group's new offices on Warren Street in downtown Syracuse. "If I was a deer, I'd like to live in Syracuse," Joule said. "You have enough to eat. You have scattered protected areas. You have ordinances that protect you further (leash laws, discharge of firearm restrictions). On top of that, people put out a lovely buffet. They line the streets with a lovely buffet so you can come out at night and feed on that and walk back to the nice park or woods that you came from." Underwood added, "Syracuse has just become just wonderful wildlife habitat. And to expect that wildlife are going to stay on the other side of the boundary, is unreasonable." Other deer-related topics included what has worked and hasn't worked elsewhere, things humans have done to make Syracuse a deer "utopia" and things humans can do to help with deer problems around their homes, including the use of fences and chemical deterrents. In regard to other wildlife in the city, all three panelists agreed there needs to be more education to teach a growing percentage of the population that is ignorant about wildlife and what we as humans are unknowingly doing to encourage their spread in our urban and suburban communities. "If I wanted to procreate my nuisance wildlife business, I would buy everyone in the city of Syracuse a birdfeeder and 25 pounds of bird seed," LaFrance said. "I wouldn't have to run around. I'd just do nothing but check birdfeeders because I'm going to catch all the squirrels, raccoons, rabbits and deer that come to them." Below are questions from the more than a dozen readers who attended the discussion, and answers given by the panelists: Q: I'm a bowhunter. I read something about the 500-foot rule (which requires that arrows can't be shot with 500 feet of an occupied building without the permission of the building owner), that they were going to change that. Is that in motion. (Joule) That's a state law, and that would take a legislative act to change that. It's nNot anything that's controlled by one agency, certainly not the DEC. There's been a lot of discussion about how that would help, or at least be one more tool in the tool chest for managing deer in suburban and urban environments. But I've not seen any movement. Q: That doesn't seem right because of a velocity of gun is much more powerful than a bow. (Joule) Certainly, a bow is not going to have the same trajectory in most cases than any kind of firearm. And typically, a deer hunter will be in an elevated position shooting down, so you have the ground as a backstop. The rationale for keeping it, I can't really say. It's just that it would take an awful lot of support to change something that already exists. I don't believe that support has been voiced enough to change it. It would be another tool, that would make it in some communities, not all, ... but in some communities that would give them one more option, where right now there are very few. Q: I'd like to start with broad question. I've worked in universities for 45 years and I don't want to hold you responsible for why we can't solve these problems. What's the real problem? Everyone knows we have a problem, but nobody has a solution. (Joule) The reason nobody has a solution is because there's no easy answer. You can manage deer to a certain extent in one location and not at all in another location that isn't too far away. In rural areas, obviously it's a lot more easier. You have more options. Hunting has maintaining the deer population in rural areas for over a century now. As we change the landscape, as we change the land's use and increase our own population and restrict wildlife populations and the type of tools we have to manage them, it becomes more and more difficult. Why one tool may be less effective in one area than another. There are social restraints, there are economic restraints. There are a whole bunch of issues. You really need an integrated plan. You can't have just one potential solution, because that isn't going to work. Toni Guidice photo Q: Is there anybody in the country that has a solution to this? It's 2013. (Joule) here are dozens of examples, just in the northeast, where they're working. Dr. Underwood is at the forefront of that research right now. I don't know if anyone can say, "Yep, we got a solution." (Underwood). The problem is this just didn't happen over night. I've been in Syracuse for over 20 years and I've watched the deer population slowly creep out of the areas in the south part of Rt. 481 into those communities. I've seen deer in St. Mary's Cemetery. I used to bird there as a young graduated student. See deer here and keep track of that. What's happened is, though, is that this is a very slow process that's driven by the landscape. All those wonderful things that people plant in their yards, and all those buffer strips, and all of those municipal lands that have been abandoned...all of a sudden just become unbelievable wildlife habitat. So from deer all the way down to little brown birds, the habitat has improved and it's improved dramatically. It's literally the expression, "If you build it they will come." And that's exactly what we're seeing as all of these communities that were established in the forties and fifties that planted tree that were that high. Those trees are now 40 to 50 feet tall now. They're at a density that resembles some of native forests. They've become just wonderful wildlife habitat. And to expect that wildlife are going to stay on the other side of the boundary, is unreasonable. An unreasonable expectation. Q: I live on the east side of the city. And I have seen as many as nine (deer) in a family come down off the hill and into my backyard. I cannot even have a garden. Any plants, they eat them. They so bold now they come on my front lawn, up on my front porch. So, I just don't understand. There's nothing you can do? A: (Underwood) I wouldn't say there's nothing you could do. There's a lot of thing you can do. There's probably not one single thing that's going to work. It's not a one-sided driven solution. The thing has to be everybody from the homeowner to the management agency working together implementing a multi-faceted solution that's going to real address the problem correctly. There are things you can do for deer. Unfortunately, they eat plants to live. They have to. Otherwise, they did. Short of building a fence and excluding them, there aren't many things that are terribly effective without actually implementing some sort of population management solution. Q: Who do you call if you see a dead deer. Is a phone number, a hotline you can call? A: (A man in the audience) The county highway department has a system by which they take that call. Send somebody out. They have contractors who pick them up. (Joule) The only stipulation with that is, depending on the jurisdiction, if it's in the road, it would fall to whatever municipality or jurisdiction covers that roadway. Otherwise, they're not going to go into somebody's yard and drag (out) a deer. Typically, it's going to be some municipal highway department that's responsible for collecting, not just deer but whatever other animals are in the road. (LaFrance) We get calls all the time, from the nuisance end of it .. a deer was hit by a car and it drops in yard.Hunting season we'll often get an animal that's wounded and drops. The procedure we have to follow is: One, we have to call conservation and the local environmental conservation officers, we have a working relationship with them. Normally, wither we get a verbal OK to go pick it up or there's choices. We either put it to the curb for the municipality to pick up or take it to the landfill. The problem we'r e faced with is the landfills do not want carcasses, be it deer or any other landfill that we do. Onondaga County, if they know you're bringing a dead deer in, they will not take it to the landfill. If we bring skunks or woodchucks. They will not take them. Our hands are tied as to what we can do. In one instance, we had one member who owned some property , who dug a pit and was burying them. He was told by a conservation officer that he did that, he was operating an unapproved landfills site. Can't do that. Most of us (nuisance animal control experts) take them . We have a chest freezer and the chest freezer gets full, we take them to Madison County and Madison County will take them... If you have a permit and permission from Madison County. (Man in audience) I went through this. Madison County accepts carcasses. They have a permit from the DEC to operate a landfill that specifically says they can take carcasses. .. but not from outside their county. Same goes from Cortland. Seneca Meadows doesn't want to hear about it because their employees are offended by the carcasses. The only option I know of. Onondaga County does not have a landfill. It has an incinerator. The incinerator plants permit with the DEC does not specify that they can take carcasses and they will not take them. And so the only option I know of is that you can get a hauler permit from Oswego County and now you have to drive all the way to Fulton to take them to their incinerator plant. (Another man from Audience). I work partime from OCCRA. They have had a facility out there in Jamesville at their storage grounds that they were bringing deer. And it was my understanding a number of years ago that they would pick up a deer and compost them, or do something at the county storage facility in Jamesville. Is that not working? (LaFrance) To my knowledge, they're not composting at Jamesville where if your drive down.. different state on the highways, see the big compost piles, woodchips and things like that in lime, where the state will pick them up, mulch them and compost them there. To the best of my knowledge, I don't think the Jamesville facility will take them. The woman said she has deer in backyard. What do you tell her? What's the first thing she should do? Call the mayor's office or what? (Joule) If you're looking at it from a site specific standpoint. There are options, but those options may or may not work for any one individual. If it's a matter of securing or a few plants for a small area, fending is absolutely the best option, except for the fact it may be expense to install and maintain. You'd need at least one that was 6 to 8 ft. (Underwood) A small fence might work around around an individual plant, but not around your yard. Dick Blume | [email protected] Q: What about an electric fence? (Underwood). It can be effective. It has to be installed properly. You'd have to look at your individual town ordinances. I have a lot of experience with electric fences, like anything else, all animals have to be trained to an electric fence. If you have livestock and an electric fence, you have to train animals. Just can't turn them loose. There's a period where they have to learn about what the electric fence is..and often that first learning experience is "Bang, I got it on the nose. I jumped over the fence and I've just learned now to jump over the fence so it doesn't hurt me any more." That would be a complete failure. Q: I live next to the woods. And this is where I get all these animals. (Underwood) Yes, that's where they live during the day and come out at night to forage and feed. You asked the question: Who do you call and how do you fix the problem? Fixing the problem will be harder than lodging the complaint. Fixing the problem will involve probably more than one solution.If there aren't very many deer and the pressure is high...namely that you're not the only one growing a certain type of green food in your neighborhood... you could probably use things like deterrents. Commercially available sprays that have the things in red hot peppers that you can spray on your plant and that will work for a little while, but like everything else you have to keep mixing it up and confusing them. Deer are like wild animal when it comes to food are conditioned. They learn very quickly when it comes to their stomach. I have used a liquid (deterrent) and it hasn't worked. (Underwood) Try something different. (Joule) Some repellents are more effective than others. Typically, it's going to be the odor-based repellents.. they have a sulfur, rotten egg type smell to them. They've been shown to be more effective. Depending on how much of an area you have to protect. It could be expensive. It could depend on the density of the deer population. In some cases, if you're well-fed, you'll use whatever is around that's most choice to you. If you're not well-fed, you're going to chose anything, anything that's available. It's not going to matter to the deer if it smells like rotten eggs. If the density is such that there's no vegetation for them to feed on. It will also depend on the weather. If it rains, it needs to be reapplied, even if you've applied it several days ago. It can be a very expensive proposition, depending on the area you wish to cover. That's certainly not a long-term solution. It's a very site-specific, short-term solution, if it's a solution at all. If the deer density is high, the deer have just adapted to repellents like that. Somebody told me to get The Hinder. Hear of that? I can't find it anyplace. (LaFrance) All the products are pretty much the same. If you apply them today and get a week of rain, you've got to reapply it. You' ve got the same thing when it comes to goose and everything else. These products are subject to the weather. I get complaints weekly, if not daily, on deer. The Bradford Hills area, Nottingham, St. Mary's Cemetery, Hoag Lane and Hot Lane in Dewitt, in Fayetteville, Green Lakes Park. I have people telling me they can't even go for a walk because the ticks are so bad. I went on a call yesterday, the man's been in the house five weeks, his kids are coming in almost daily with ticks. They're in an area, where normal hunting means is not an option, because it's heavy residential. But there options as far as control within a residential area. The problem being you'll get five that want them gone, this man over here likes them at the bird feeder. So the five say "let's get rid of them" and we get written permission to go their property to do this. But the other guy, a homeowner within 500 feet says, "No, I don 't want this done." His vote overrides the five. Here's what we do with deer and other wildlife species. We back up the other way to see if we can do going 500 feet the other way. It has to be in total agreement with like a homeowners association. It's something that takes some time to work out. Pretty much meticulous. We've deer control and the airport before and for different municipalities. But it has to be something 100 percent in agreement with everyone, and 100 percent legal. You can't go in with a high-powered rifle into a residential area. But there are other tools you can use for it. The big problem is getting the consensus of everyone in the area to agree on a common solution. Whether it's broadspan chemical use, or lethal means with a bow and arrow, crossbow, shotgun or whatever. That's where we have the greatest problem is getting a uniform agreement as to the method of control. (Joule) That's why an intergrated plan is absolutely necessary. Q: If a municipality decides to do deer control, you don't need the consent of the residents. Right? (Joule) Yes, you do. It's private property. Q: Rochester, don't they do deer control? (Joule) they have a hunting program and they also had a culling program to iniate that. They did the culling on primarily on municipal property. Q: You said you'd need a fence of least 8 feet high to keep deer out. The city of Syracuse doesn't allow fences more than six feet. It would seem like the first step would be to change that ordinance. Right, and that's up the community. That's why community involvement is really where it needs to start. There needs to be a very concerted effort in the community before it ever gets to outside the community and you start looking for outside help. There are options, some better than others.. some more cost effective. But not everyone is going to agree on the "right" option. Irondequoit is a good example of where It has worked. There are lots of examples of where people put the cart before the horse and had a management.. Cayuga Heights is a perfect example.. Q: Who pays for these plans. Is the DEC's responsibility? Or, if the city of Syracuse is going to have some multi-facted plan, will it be the city that will have to pay for whatever is done. (Joule) I can tell you if you're looking cash from the DEC, you're looking in the wrong direction. Cayuga Heights they put together a plan they knew was going to be rather expensive. That's why it's really incumbent on a community to make sure they have a good plan. I mean a plan for open space so they don't get to point where deer are causing problems. Because it's going to be a lot cheaper to prevent those problems than to try and solve them later on. In order to solve their problem, they knew they were going to have to put in a special tax for all the residents in that community and basically the community members paid for implementation of that plan. You're talking about $150,000 a year to an affluent community. The cost doesn't change regardless of what community you're in. So, how you generate the revenue to pay for something like that, it's something that a lot of communities have to look at and say, "Well, we don't have much of a problem now. We can solve that later on. If it gets to the point where you have to look at a plan like Cayuga Heights, something has gone terribly wrong. You really need to plan so it doesn't get there. Q: So, is it safe to say, if someone want something done in the city of Syracuse, it's going to the city that's going to pay for it? (Joule) They're certainly going to have to foot the majority of the bill. Irondequoit received some funding through the legislature... for an experimental contraception aspect of the plan. But that was only for a few years, and it wasn't to continue the program. You have to keep in mind, this isn't a quick fix or a one-time fix. Once you start, you don't stop. You need to manage deer in perpetuity. You're not just going to get rid of the deer, knock it (the herd) back to an acceptable population level and then sit back and say, "Great, we're done." This is an on-going thing that has to continue, otherwise you're right back where you started. Q: You talked about improved urban habitat, but I've been reading that if you look at the forest floor, that its decimated by the deer. That's there's no more saplings, and the little critters and flowers are gone. Is that true? (Underwood). Absolutely. You're talking about a species that eats plants from about 7 feet, down to the forest floor. They also do very well on manicured lawns, people's vegetable gardens and things like that. All of those things are true. It's a package deal. You get deer in your backyard, you're going to get those kind of impacts. Q: By my concern is that the forest isn't renewing itself. (Underwood) It could be a concern. Many of my clients are federal land agencies who have mandates to perpetuate natural forests and those kind of things. These are really important concerns to them. Those are necessarily the same concerns you'll find in the city of Syracuse. My point is that all those values you have to go down your checklist and determine what is most important to you. I would say for a natural wildlife refuge, those kind of ecological questions are probably more important that they would be in someone's neighborhood. But all those impacts absolutely occur and they might be important to you. Q: Down in Cortland you have the waterworks. It's about 20 acres and it's fenced in. The deer are trapped in there because of the fencing. You go down there and look everything is (missing) at browse height. Those deer are fed by the public. Go down there any day and see people giving the deer apples, Cheerios and everything else. I asked one of the head guys if I could come down there and bow hunt. He said he's love to, it would help clear the deer out. But if I did and somebody finds out, I could lose my job. These guys ' hands are tied. (Underwood) The deer issue is multi-faceted. There are biological concerns, ecological concerns that have to do with forest succession, and there are public interface to all this. That's what makes managing deer so controversial. It has all of these different facets. And all of these equally deserve a lot of time and attention to solve them correctly. That's what makes the problem so intractable. Q: The deer in my neighborhood, which is Bradford Heights, the deer all seem to have triplets. What's the significance of that? (Joule) They're living well. Very well. I've said it before, if I was a deer, I'd like to live in Syracuse. You have enough to eat. You have scattered protected areas. You have ordinances that protect you further (leash laws, discharge of firearm restrictions). On top of that, people put out a lovely buffet. They line the streets with a lovely buffet so you can come out at night and feed on that.. and then just casually walk back, because you know you're not under any pressure. No one is threatening you. Just walk back to the nice park you came from. (Underwood) Well said. The triplets is a nutritional thing. There are plenty of predators in and around the city of Syracuse. All you have to do is look. Some of them have four tires and grills, but there are also plenty of four-legged predators out there. The deer have plenty to eat out there. That's why you see a high percentage of triplets and twins. As the habitat deteriorates over a period of time and the population continues to grow, you'll see fewer triplets, and a lot more twins and singletons out there. It's really a nutritional thing as they deplete the habitat. Q: Does it reach a peak ? What's the long-run scenario? (Underwood). You really don't want an answer to that question. It's 200-plus deer per square mile. It's extraordinary. Q: Where's that? What's the impact on traffic? (Underwood) Which place would you like me to list first? It's a hard place to answer. It depends on where you put the road. Depends on where deer are. Lot of factors that go into that. I know plenty of places, small national parks through the northeastern U.S. that are dealing with this problem and have dealt with 200 deer per square mile on these little postage-stamp park locations. The entire park operations is impacted by the abundance of deer in the park environment. Every park operation, from maintenance to interpretation - all are impacted by the number of deer out there. They spend an inordinate amount of their budget just dealing with the impacts of that many deer. That's when you know that you really have a problem. Q: What's the estimate of the deer population now in Onondaga County? (Joule) When you're talking about deer density at the county scale, ..especially in areas where there are non-huntable sections of that unit, it's going to vary. For the most part, you're looking at at least 30 deer per square mile. And in some areas, it's going to be twice that. Q: At the university area it must be higher. (Joule) Yes, certainly. (Underwood) I have a student out right now doing deer censusing in the east-side communities (of the county). We've been out there since April. We'll probably have a good estimate of abudance by September. She's coming out of the field in the next week or so and we'll work up the numbers and have a pretty good estimate of how many deer are actually in that Route 81, 481 and 690 loop. Q: Talking about how bold they are. My property, unfortunately is being blocked off where Route 81 is being repaired. I have property on that corner and they allow me to go in and out and do what I have to do. Cut the grass, etc. Talk about boldness. I'm cutting the grass just last week and had my camera. That deer looked at me and said, "Who are you? Then he turned and told me what to kiss with his back end and just kept on going down.I didn't know if it was going to come at me or what. (Underwood) That's pretty common behavior. (LaFrance) What we hear most often is that we have such a deer density because we took their habitat. We have too many houses and we have no place to live. Go back and do research and look back in the 50s, there was not a deer herd here. It didn't matter with the houses. The housing developments and tracts in Liverpool and Salina, all these municipalities were here. But deer weren't. What we've done now.. there's a lot you can do as far as deer. Plant shrubs that are not deer friendly. Plant plants that are not deer food. Do simple things. Sometimes something as simple as pinwheel is all it takes. Something that flashes and moves that will get the deer to move. What we've done when you're planting your yard and doing landscapes, and those of you in a development situation ... if you're going to put ponds in, you're going to have a goose problem - guaranteed. If you add little wooded areas, you're going to have deer and goose problems. We've created a utopia. The deer came because we sent them an invitation. We've planted our backyards with everything they want to eat. We've put in fruit trees, we put in berries. We put in bird feeders. They'll come in and feed on a bird feeder all winter. We've done all these things - avoid them. Take the bird feeders away. Take the apples out of your yard and keep your area more open. The more open it is, the less likely you are to have the deer frequenting it. Q: Do you recommend cutting brush and trees up to a 6-foot level? My backyard is brushy. I thought I'd be nice. I wouldn't have to see the neighbor's house. One of my ideas is to bushwack my entire back yard. Leave just the trees and cut everything else down. (Someone from the audience) The surround area could still be good for deer habitat and doing one yard probably won't have much impact. (Underwood) That would be my thinking, too. It might help you initially, but they'll eventually figure that out. And at night time, of course, all bets are off. During the day is when they seek the shelter. They lay down, they bed down in dense cover where they can see. At night time, it's all about habitat. (Someone from the audience) They also bed down in the open so they can see the coyotes coming. Q: I live at the dead end of a street. They seem to be more at my house, than at the neighbor's. (Underwood) I know. That's the worst place you can possibly be. They're coming right out of the woods there. A fence is probably going to be your best bet at the moment. But it's probably not going to be a long-term solution. A rangy dog helps. Q: What did you guys think about one guy's proposal to have dogs chasing deer out of suburban areas? (Underwood) It solves the immediate nuisance problem, but it doesn't solve the problem of having that many deer. You're just moving the problem to someone else's property. Sometimes that's OK if property owner is ambivalent, but in general they're going to be your neighbors and they're not going to be very happy if you do something like that. Q: Is that legal (to use dogs in that fashion)? (Underwood) They do it with geese all the time on municipal and corporate properties in New Jersey. Dogs are trained to chase the geese off yards. It causes problems. It solves the immediate problem, the nuisance issue, but it creates a larger, even bigger problem. Q: PBS did a special on white tails, and it was in Cayuga Heights. And then had a German Shepherd silhoute thing, and the deer got used to that incredibly quick. (Underwood) Deer are incredibly adaptable, and they love to swim in our wake, in the wake of human beings. That's probably why they've been successful for all this time. It's no surprise, they learn quickly...and get conditioned about things like food, and garbage that's left out. They key into that stuff very quickly, like raccoons and possums and foxes and all of those other critters that live in our neighborhood that we don't care as much about, remarkably. They just don't have that impact that deer have. Until that level of impact gets up into our radar, we don't seem to care as much. Q: Do you know if that extended hunting season in the Cayuga Heights area had any effect? (Joule) It won't have an effect, if at all, for several years. (From the audience) It's not only Cayuga Heights, it's Ithaca, it's Virgil, a whole big area. Al and I do a lot of bat work.. we're having problems getting access to hunt down there. (Joule) That shouldn't come as any surprise. The problem exists for that reason to begin with. There's an over -abundance of deer because of the lack of access. The idea is that for those landowners who are having problems, and year after year apply for damage permits or get extra tags to reduce the population, in the past, they've been constrained by the number of permits any one person can use. The idea is to give those landowners who have access to areas within the focus area, the opportunity and means to reduce the population. It's not a recreational opportunity, per say. It's not intended to be a recreational opportunity. It's intended to eleviate the problems that are existing around and within the focus area. That doesn't happen overnight, and it certainly isn't going to happen in those areas where access hasn't improved. Q: How far does a deer range? (Underwood) It's like asking how far is a rope. It depends on lots of things. It depends on the amount of resources of where they're hanging out at that particular moment. In general, in urban areas, their home ranges are very small. Sometimes I would say 200 acres would be large home range. Large. Sometimes 50 acres is as small as they range out. I've seen deer in very, very small places. It depends on how much is available to them, and how far they have to go to get that. So, in urban areas, they do not have to go very far to get those needs dealt with. Q: So deer hunting in Pompey is not going to affect the deer in the city at all. (Underwood) Highly unlikely. (LaFrance) It could also have a reverse effect. The fringe areas around the city that do allow hunting, if there's a lot of hunting pressure can drive the deer from there. Deer learn very quickly. They learn when first shot is fired to leave Jamesville and move into DeWitt. They learn to go from the outskirts of Fayetteville, into the village of Fayetteville, until the season is over. You still have the same deer problem, because once the season is over and the woods quiet down and animals will move back out and disperse again. AP/ Mike Lynch Q: I used to work for the city. We would actually go pick up (dead) deer. There was one person who went out and did skunks and all that. I went out four years ago and saw something that looked like some sort of small pig. It had the pig nose. I don't know what you call it. What is it?(Underwood) Gray fur? Yep, that's an opossum. That's very common critter. Q: What should I do with the woodchuck that's digging a whole by my foundation? (LaFrance) It depends on your feelings about the woodchuck. Live trap them. The problem with live trapping is that we (nuisance control specialists) under the auspices and rules of the DEC as to what we can do with wildlife. If we live trap it, then we have to release some place. If he's dug holes in your yard and we take him a mile down the road, he's to dig a hole in their yard. Most of the animals such as that, we have two options. If you have 10 acres of land, or you have property outside the city, we can take him with your permission to your land and turn him loose. I can not, as most homeowners do.. if you're a homeowner and you trap your woodchuck, you can do whatever you want because nobody's going to fine you, or give you a ticket. You can take him to Oakwoods Cemetery and turn him loose. If I take him and I'm caught doing that, I could get fined. I would jeopardize my license by doing that. We have strict guidelines about what we can do. We can euthanize or we can release with permission on your property. You just can't take him out to state land and let him loose. Everyone in Fayetteville, Manlius and DeWitt uses Green Lakes State Park as a dumping ground. I have rules and regulations that I have to follow when I'm trapping. I have to have my name and address on a cage. You do not. You're supposed to, but nobody does. Once you leave your driveway, you're in violation of a whole handful of DEC laws, because if you catch a woodchuck on your land, you can dispose him on your land. You cannot take him legally down the road and turn him loose in the neighborhood cemetery or park. Now you're transporting wildlife without a license, trapping without a license, in possession of wildlife out of season, and you don't have your cage (trap) properly tagged. You have four or five violations that if a conservation officer pulls you over, he can write you up for it. Q: Before I trap without a license, I have to get him into the trap I bought. Right now there seems to be so much stuff in my yard, he won't go into my trap. (LaFrance) If you want to know about the food of choice would be? Set the trap so that he has no choice that he has to go in it when he comes out of his burrow. Then it doesn't matter what you put in there. You can go out and buy fresh asparagus. Q: How many people do you think trap illegally? (LaFrance) If I had a dollar for every animal that was trapped in Onondaga County illegally by homeowners, I could probably take the next couple of years off. Just in course of one season. (Man from audience) This is the problem. And I want to commend David for having this forum. Everyone wants a solution, but there's no one solution. It seems like education is the way to go. We have institutions like Cornell and Cooperative Extension, we have the state fair. We have an educational television station. If people could learn if they're doing harm, or solving the problem. That would help a little bit. (LaFrance). If people learn how to solve the problem. There's a soft spot, though, that every person has. If we touch that soft spot, it's taboo. It doesn't matter if the soft spot goes against the law, or is within the law, if we touch that soft spot...I deal with foxes and coyotes a lot. There's all types of threats. You can have an actual threat or a perceived threat. The perceived threat to that young lady there is just as real as the threat is to your dog is in her mind. The difference is how she perceived what we're going to do. Kill em. Because he just killed my cat. Or kill him because .. we're talking about deer. They're terrible. You should see the deer in our yard. On the other hand, you get "You should see the little fawn that's in our yard. He's got spots. He's curled up under a bush." He's OK because he's a small fawn. When he grows up, he becomes a problem. In the meantime, if a coyote comes through that yard and kills that young fawn, the coyote has to die. The coyote is doing what we're supposed to be doing and he's part of the solution to the problem but this coyote has to die because he killed something in front of you. If you don't see it, it's OK. As far as a fox and coyote, I tell most people if the fox is not posing a threat when he's raising a litter underneath your deck and he's not imposing a threat to your pets or your children, enjoy him. Watch him. When the fox loses his fear of you. When he starts to become a challenge to your children, or if there's a safety concern, it's time to do something. When you say, what can we do. I can't take him and trap him and take him out to Pompey and let him loose. Before you know it, he's back in the city of Syracuse because that's where he lives. I can take him to Old Forge and let him loose, and he'll say "What the hell am I doing here? You brought me from where I had chipmunks and rabbits and bird feeders in every yard, and brought me to a place where there's nothing to eat by pine cones. I don't want to be here. I want to go home. So, what is fair for that coyote? Dump him in the middle of nowhere land where he has no food, he's going to try and get home and end of fighting with every other coyote pack that he has to pass through their territory and now this is how diseases are spread. He'll have to fight to get back. He was healthy when we caught him. It's a tough choice of what to do with these. Do we destroy them and put them down? People think we enjoy this. There's no enjoyment in it whatsoever. It's part of a job. Something we have to do. Every situation is different. If the fox or coyote is not imposing a threat to you, enjoy them. If he's after your dog, you have two choices. Keep your dog inside. Put him out on leash. You don't have to put Fido out in your backyard if you know a coyote is going to come and snatch him. Just because a coyote is there today. I can take him out. But if it was good habitat for that coyote, there's golng to be another coyote that will move right in there. So your dog is no safer after that coyote is gone than before. Adapt. Put a fence up. It may not keep the deer out, but it'll keep the coyotes out. There's different things you can do. You have to understand one thing. There's things that have to die for other things to live. But we have to co-exist and it's a planet. And all these other animals out there have just as much right to be here as we do. Learn to adapt. Address the problems, maybe put up a fence. Nobody wants to look out there window, though and see a 10-foot fence. Plant your shrubs, the proper plants. And birdfeeders. They're fantastic. If I want to procreate my nuisance wildlife business, I would buy everyone in the city of Syracuse a birdfeeder and 25 pounds of bird seed. I wouldn't have to run around and do nothing but check birdfeeders because I'm going to catch all the squirrels, rabbit..deer come to them. When you put bird feeder out there, it's OK to watch the birds, but when the coyote comes to get the squirrel which you invited with your bird feeder..or the sharp-shinned hawk. He comes in takes the doves. In order for that sharp-shinned hawk to live he has eat, and the doves are the slowest birds at the feeder. (Joule) A lot of the species, we can abate with behavior modification. It's typically a very temporary modification. It doesn't have to be year-round.A lot of the coyotes and foxes, they're going to pose most of their problems during their breeding season. When they're defending their territories so they can raise their young, they're going to be very aggressive. They're going to need a place for protection, a food source, they're going to come around and really, in many cases, it's a perceived threat, rather than an actual threat. It'll still be the same. On the other hand, that will go away and they'll go back to a more secluded area. So, we can do things to deter them from coming around, and that doesn't work, we can do things to make them leave. We can also do things so that they're not going to want to come back. We have to modify our own behavior. We can't be feeding wild animals outside. We can't be feeding the pets outside. Birds don't need our help. They don't need those feeders. So if you're having a nuisance problem, where you're attracting raccoons or whatever to your house, the solution is pretty easy. It takes a little bit of effort on our part to remove ourselves from the equation about what's causing the problem. Outside of that, other things we can do that's more management intensive. The first thing we have to do iis store your garbage correctly. It may be an inconvenience and maybe you only take it out the day it's being collected. Don't leave your grill in state where it's going to attract raccoons or in some areas bears. Outside of that, that's when we get to the more intensive management. What happens when someone gets bit by a wild animal? (La France) It's a very big deal. The worst problem I see from the nuisance wildlife control side of things, is everyone worries about bats. Bats have rabbies. Raccoons. They're out in the daytime so they must have rabies. See a skunk. No they don't. In the spring and early summer when they have a litter, mom goes out for walk, to relieve herself..does not mean she's rabid. Watch for behavior of animal. If its erratic or aggressive, that's an animal to stay away from. The one thing you have to learn, in my opinion, there are more people that are exposed to feral cats and diseases from feral cats than there are from raccoons, squirrels and skunks. We don't teach our children that. My own daughter went in a park picked up a feral kitten and it bit the living crap out of her and took off. She had to undergo rabies shots. Everyone in here ever see a "wall beaver." Get those complaints all the time. You mean ground hogs. We have a public today that has grown so far away from the environment that we live in that they don't know a beaver from a woodchuck. We have a giant rat in our birdfeeder. What is it? It's an opossum. For the older folks, wildlife was a part of things growing up. Not so anymore. Our kids today are computer-oriented and very few have the opportunity because we're more centrally located in the cities and less in the rural areas that they don't the expose to see all these things. (Underwood) There's a real need for some general education answering the nuisance kind of questions. How to behavior around animals, how to manage your property.. other side, there are some real dangerous issues, and deer are included in that in respect to Lyme disease and collisions with vehicles. Those are real health and safety issues...apart from "There's a deer that's misbehaving in my backyard." (Joule) One of the biggest casualties of budget cuts and our economic situation now is that the first thing to go in a lot cases is our education and outreach and our ability to be pro-active. As an agency, we're must more reactive than we should be. There are fires to put out every day. You have to put out those fires then, while pushing off those items that are more pro-active.. those things can wait. That's the philosophy but in the long run we end up paying for it a lot more. And we pay for it when the public isn't aware of these things and that's why they get worse. View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog

The event featured an opening-day visit by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. A tgtal of 34,100 people attended the four-day tournament.Bassmaster.com A big crowd turned out in the tiny town of Waddington on the St. Lawrence River last week to break the attendance record for a Bassmaster Elite Series event. A total of 34,100 people turned out for the Evan Williams Bourbon Showdown,which began Thursday and ended Sunday.. The previous four-day record of 33,650 was set at this season's opener, the March 14-17 Sabine River Challenge presented by STARK Cultural Venues in Orange, Texas. The event featured a visit on the first day by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who announced there would be an Elite Series event next year on one of the FInger Lakes. Cuomo also announced The governor also announced the "2014 Governor's Challenge." Held in conjunction with the Finger Lakes event, the challenge will be a fishing competition among the governor, elected officials from New York and professional bass anglers. "Elite Series attendance is an excellent measure of how the sport of bass fishing continues to grow," said B.A.S.S. CEO Bruce Akin in an article about the event on bassmaster.com. "B.A.S.S. and its sponsors work to promote each event going in. But of course we would not be breaking attendance records if the local hosts weren't going all-out to create the level of interest we've been seeing this year." A field of 99 anglers competed in the event, which was won by Brandon Palaniuk, of Idaho. His victory earned him $100,000 and qualified him for the Bassmaster Classic, which is billed as the World Series of bass fishing. , View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog

Water fleas and weed mats on or near the surface continue to make trolling difficult on Seneca, Cayuga and Owasco lakes.. CNY FISHING REPORT LAKE ONTARIO The strong winds over the weekend made getting out on the big lake very difficult, so no new fishing information to report this week. The U.S. Coast Guard issued a small craft advisory today that's scheduled to last until Thursday evening. When things settle down,l look for salmon 60-80 feet down over 150 to 200 feet of water. Good baits were spoons, flashers and cut-bait, flashers and whole alewives, and flashers and flies. Green and white had been productive colors. Anglers are getting baits down with variety of methods such as wire and Dipsey divers (about 250 to 300 feet back), copper (600 feet) and downriggers. SALMON RIVER Fishing is slow on the river, which is usual for this time of year. But, there are a few Atlantic salmon and Skamania strain steelhead being taken in the upper river. The lower river is yielding some smallmouth bass and rock bass. OSWEGO RIVER The river is way down. Smallmouth bass are biting crankbaits, minnows, crayfish and spinnerbaits. Catfish and sheephead (freshwater drum) are hitting on crayfish or night crawlers. ONEIDA LAKE There is an algae bloom taking place on the lake. Though most algae are harmless and an important part of the food web, there is blue-green algae being found on the North shore. The algae bloom has made fishing more difficult, but walleye continue to be caught when the wind isn't blowing too hard and anglers can get out. Walleye are being taken in the 20- to 30-foot zone. Try around Shackelton and Messenger Shoals and Buoy 113. Good baits have been black & purple bucktail jigs tipped with nightcrawler and blade baits. CAYUGA LAKE Weeds are still a nuisance, but water fleas are becoming less of a problem. If still having problems with fleas, try using flea flicker line or going to a heavier pound test line (25-30#) helps some with the fleas, as does using a trolling method where your line is running more horizontal than vertical. For example: using wire and Dipsey diver instead of a downrigger. Vertical jigging is also an option instead of trolling if fleas become to aggravating. Trolling down 70 to 100 feet over 80 to 20 feet of water with spoons or flasher and flies, fished off downriggers, copper wire, or Dipsey divers is still working for lake trout. Vertical jigging is also working for lake trout in 90 to 105 feet of water. Atlantic salmon and some brown trout are being taken on spoons fished 35 to 55 feet down over 60 to 120 feet of water. Bass and panfish are being caught on the north end in 10-15 feet of water. SENECA LAKE Water fleas and weed mats have been less of a problem over the last week. If fleas are still making trolling difficult though, see Cayuga Lake above for suggestions on dealing with the fleas. Trolling down 50 to 65 feet with downriggers, or with wire and Dipsey divers is producing a mixed bag of brown and rainbow trout, Atlantic salmon and even some lake trout. Lake trout are also being taken 90 to 120 feet down over 120-250 feet of water on spoons and flasher and flies. Running Dipseys back 250 to 285 feet has been a good starting point, as is running copper out 300 feet. Vertical jigging in 95 to 115 feet of water with plastics is also working for the lake trout. OWASCO LAKE Fleas and weed mats are still making trolling more difficult on the lake (see Cayuga Lake above for suggestions on dealing with the fleas). Anglers trolling down 50-60 feet over 120 to 150 feet of water, with spoons or flasher and flies are getting some lake trout, along with an occasional rainbow trout. OTISCO LAKE Some walleye are still being taken by anglers trolling down 25 to 30 feet on crankbaits, stickbaits or worm harnesses. A few brown trout are also being taken by anglers trolling stickbaits or spoons at the same depths. Look for bass near shore and along the weed edges. A variety of baits should work this time of year from spinnerbaits, jigs, and plastics to topwaters. SKANEATELES LAKE Fishing small spoons or stickbaits down 35 to 50 feet has been working for lake trout. Smallmouth bass are being taken on tube jigs, stick worms (Senko style baits) and drop-shot rigs in 5 to 25 feet of water. SANDY POND: Fishing has slowed down on the pond, but fishing early or late in the day is still producing some walleye, panfish and largemouth bass. ST. LAWRENCE RIVER Bass continue to be caught in deeper water, getting as deep as 35-40 feet. Northern pike bite continues to be strong, with many being caught on the edge of weedlines, anywhere from 8 to 20 feet. Try a Rapala Huskie Jerk lure. Many successful bass anglers are using minnows or a rubber worm. Walleyes are being caught in the early morning or evening. A popular lure has been the Jigfish. SODUS BAY Panfish are being taken on small jigs, minnows and worms. Bass fishing has been good on Senko style baits and weed less frogs. A few northern pike are being taken on large minnows. WHITNEY POINT RESERVOIR Walleye and smallmouth bass are hitting crankbaits either cast or trolled. Good colors have been perch pattern. Also, look for walleye along the old river channel with jigs tipped with night crawler or worm harnesses View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog

I'm planning a story on the DEC's big aquarium that's set up at the state fair every year. What goes into to putting it together each year? Where do they get those fish? Been a busy week. I've been working on a number of issues and developments. They include: - Urban wildlife, including the huge number of deer in the city of Syracuse. I have a panel discussion set for Thursday at the Syracuse Media Group's new offices at 220 Warren St. in downtown Syracuse. I have more than dozen attending (there's still time to get in) and I'll be typing up the questions (and answers) for a full report online, with excerpts in Sunday's paper.: - Several things concerning Oneida Lake 1). An angler recently caught and released a 27-inch Atlantic salmon on the lake, the biggest on record since the Fish Creek Atlantic Salmon Club began stocking Fish Creek (a tributary of Oneida) with two-inch fingerlings 17 years ago with the hope of re-establishing this once-native fish to the waterway. 2). The DEC-run, volunteer staffed cormorant harassment effort has started once again on the lake. 3). An update on the algae bloom situation on the lake. What caused it to be so bad this year, and what's been the impact on fishing? 4). The acquisition by Madison County of a $115,000 Boston Whaler boat for use on Oneida Lake that's full equipped for marine law enforcement activities. The money for the boat came from a federal grant. - The law of the lake. There's a wide variety of law enforcement agencies represented on Oneida Lake -- with Onondaga County having the biggest presence, even though the lake is not in the county. What's with that? Other stuff I'm working on: - A look at how the SAFE Act and other factors have contributed to increased memberships in local rod and gun clubs. - I'm planning a story on the DEC's big aquarium that's set up at the state fair every year. What goes into to putting it together each year? Where do they get those fish? - CNY shoreline fishing hot spots . Thinking about doing a piece on public piers that stretch out into the Fingerlakes (Ones at Skaneateles, Owasco and Seneca lakes.. are there any on Cayuga?) - Great CNY canoeing/kayaking stretches - Panfish lesson: How do tell a sunny, from a bluegill, from a pumpkinseed? - High-quality,high-comfort camping for those who don't like to rough it. - The CNY triathlon culture. Triathlons, and the people who do them, are a big thing and more and more people are getting into them. - An update on the Cornell Ornithology lab and its most recent compilation of recordings of more than 4,000 bird calls from across the world. - Which fishing rod do you use for bass fishing? The choices today are numerous and ever-growing. - The Cornell Vet School emergency room, and all the strange cases of domestic and wild animals that it deals with on a daily basis. THE FIGURA CHALLENGE I laid out the "The Figura Challenge" over the Memorial Day weekend -- challenging readers to to check out 15 Central New York outdoors destinations during the summer. Several readers have already taken me up on it and I'm getting comments and pictures. It's not too late to get started! Each Thursday on this blog through the summer, I'll give an update on reactions, stories and photos submitted by readers about their travels to these destinations. Send your impressions and photos of the places you visit on the list to [email protected], ANYTHING ELSE READERS OF THIS REPORT WOULD LIKE TO SEE ME WRITE ABOUT? The effectiveness of this report is two-fold. First, it lets readers know what's coming up story-wise. It also allows readers a chance to affect coverage and provide sources for upcoming stories. Bottom line: Keep in touch and give input. You could make a difference as to what appears week to week on the outdoors page! Email me at [email protected] or call 470-6066. If you want to join The Post-Standard's Outdoors Group and get this emailed directly to you, subscribe here.. FIGURA ON FACEBOOK: For those who are on Facebook, I also have a PS Outdoors page, which I check several times daily for feedback and story ideas. I also post personal fishing and hunting and other outdoors-related photos from time to time and I ask members to do the same. When you join, please be sure and hit the "like" button. View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog

The event is being held from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Thursday at the Media Group's new "Hub" at 220 Warren Street in downtown Syracuse. Online questions for the panel will be accepted until 10 a.m. Thursday. Send them to [email protected]. The city of Syracuse has more than its share of deer -- along with skunks, foxes, opossums, raccoons, squirrels, rabbits, bats and Canada geese, among other animals. The Syracuse Media Group (Syracuse.com/The Post-Standard) is holding a panel discussion on the topic of "Urban Wildlife" from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Thursday at the Media Group's new "Hub" at 220 Warren Street in downtown Syracuse. The public is invited to attend. Panelists will include Steve Joule, the DEC's chief wildlife biologist from Region 7; Brian Underwood, a wildlife biologist from U.S. Geological Survey and SUNY ESF and Al LaFrance, a nuisance wildlife removal specialist. The first half of the meeting will be dedicated to the subject of deer in the city, with the last half being dedicated to other animals. To attend, contact Janet Barone at 470-2275 or by email at [email protected]. Attendance will be limited to 40 persons. If you have a question for the panelists and are unable to attend, send your questions to [email protected]. The deadline for online questions is 10 a.m. Thursday. See the story on the large number of "deer crossing" signs in the city. Read commonly asked questions and answers concerning deer in urban settings. View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog

Toad Harbor has moved into the lead in the North Division. Pompey leads the south. CENTRAL NEW YORK TRAP LEAGUE RESULTS OF WEEK 18 (Aug. 13) NORTHERN DIVISION NORTH SPORTSMAN (182) AT CENTRAL SQUARE (187) PATHFINDER (194) AT TOAD HARBOR (198) SOUTH SHORE (bye) SOUTHERN DIVISION DEWITT (192) AT POMPEY (196) BRIDGEPORT (185) AT CAMILLUS (192) SKANEATELES (195) AT THREE RIVERS (187) STANDINGS NORTH TOAD HARBOR 25 pts, 2975 clays PATHFINDER 24 pts., 2771 clays SOUTH SHORE 14 pts., 2748 clays CENTRAL SQUARE 8 pts., 2730 clays NORTH SPORTSMAN 1 pt., 2621 clays STANDINGS SOUTH Pompey 28 pts., 3520 clays Camillus 27 pts., 3527 clays Skaneateles 23 pts., 3,544 clays Three Rivers 18 pts., 3456 clays Bridgeport 12 pts., 3397 clays SHOOTERS WHO HIT 25 OUT OF 25 CLAYS (Where 50s are indicated, shooters shot 25 for 25 two weeks in a row.) BRIDGEPORT - NONE CAMILLUS - BOB MILTON, BOB WIEGAND CENTRAL SQUARE - DAN FRIGON JR. DEWITT - GEORGE PANARISI NORTH SPORTSMAN - NONE PATHFINDER - JOHN RUDY SR. - MARK COLE POMPEY - JEFF BELL - JOE PISTELLO -STEVE RANDALL - JOHN HAYES SKANEATELES - 50 - TOM MAIN - 25'S - BILL MAIN - BOB RICE SOUTH SHORE - BYE THREE RIVERS - JOE FREDERICKS TOAD HARBOR - 50 - PHIL MAITLAND - 25'S--BOB GREEN- MARK COWIN SR., RODGER MORAN- GARY ODELL- JIM SCALISI **RESULTS COURTESY OF DICK MASTERPOLE View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog

Continue the discussion. Join the Syracuse Media Group's panel discussion on "Urban Wildlife" Thursday. If you can't attend, send your questions to [email protected]. They're all over the city of Syracuse - deer crossing signs, that is. "We have a couple of dozen up. We just replaced one the other day," said Bill Richardson, crew leader for the city's traffic sign crew. "You got them up on East Genesee, LaFayette Road, Glenwood Avenue, Valley Drive (by the cemetery), Jamesville Avenue, near Webster's Pond," he said. Richardson said he's been driving the streets of Syracuse for about 30 years. "It's really amazing. There's deer all over," he said. "They're living in the smallest wooded areas you can think of, in cemeteries, in wooded areas adjacent to developments and definitely in the city's outskirts." Richardson said he's often seen small groups of deer congregating in unlikely places, like the corner of Westmoreland Avenue and West Genesee Street. "It's kind of weird, but they're there," he said. "I've seen them on the south side on Castle Street. One night, I saw one come out of the Oakwood Cemetery on to West Colvin Street. It was a buck (with antlers so big) it looked like it had a rocking chair on its head. I couldn't believe how big it was." Syracuse Police do not have an available tally on the number of deer/motor vehicle accidents that occurred in the city during 2012. Data collected by the state Department of Transportation, though, shows seven deer/vehicle accidents on Syracuse's "city streets" in 2011. That figure does not include accidents that occurred on county or state roads that run through the city. (In the same state report, the DOT reported 1,005 deer/vehicle accidents in Onondaga County that year, along with 4,325 accidents in the six-county Central New York region, which is comprised of Cayuga, Cortland, Madison, Onondaga, Oswego and Oneida counties.) Richardson said the city has no written policy in determining where deer crossing signs go, adding most of the sign placements are the result of complaints from residents or at the request of police.. Richardson said he drives out to each proposed deer sign location to make sure there' s no problems with the sign placement, such as blocking or obscuring the view of a stop sign. He stressed deer crossing signs definitely serve a purpose in the city. "It's good for people to have a heads-up in the areas (where the deer are)," he said. CONTINUE THE DISCUSSION Join the Syracuse Media Group's panel discussion at our new offices at 220 Warren St. in downdown Syracuse from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on "Urban Wildlife" Thursday. You have to register in advance to attend. See commonly asked questions and answers about urban deer by Steve Joule, chief wildlife biologist for Region 7 of the state Department of Environmental Conservation. If you can't come send your questions to [email protected]. View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog

<p> He caught it fishing out of Fair Haven. The fish hit a Green Spin Dr w/green Atommik fly on a downrigger set at 120 feet down. . </p> <p><br />A happy Corey Reff, of Orwell, holds up an impressive, chinook salmon he caught while fishing with Michael Juskow, of Pennellville on Juskow's boat out of Fair Haven.</p> <p>Juskow said at the time they were trolling in 200 feet of water and "the fish hit a Green Spin Dr w/green Atommik fly on the downrigger set at 120 feet down.</p> <p>"The fish made some great runs and tried its best to get away, tangling in the dipsy rod and other rigger rod, but we were able to land it. It weighed 32.12 pounds.</p> <p>"It's Corey's biggest fish to date."<br /> </p> View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog

The county has purchased a $115,000 Boston Whaler. The 19-foot boat is fully equipped for marine-related, law enforcement activities. The Madison County Sheriff's office is joining the club of local law enforcement agencies with a presence on Oneida Lake with the recent purchase of a boat. "It'll be out on the lake within a week," said Undersheriff John Ball. The boat, a 19-foot Boston Whaler, cost the county about $115,000 after shipping and other expenses were paid, Ball said. It's "fully outfitted" for marine, law enforcement activities, he added. Other law enforcement agencies out on the lake include the Onondaga, Oswego and Oneida sheriffs, along with the state Department of Environmental Conservation environmental conservation officers and the Coast Guard. View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog

It's the biggest fish of this species taken on this lake in recent memory. It's also confirmation that a 17- year-long effort of stocking this once-native fish in a tributary of the lake by a private club of volunteers is taking hold. It's a good fishing story -- and a noteworthy success story as well. Jerry Lougnot, of Cicero, this May caught and released a 27-inch Atlantic salmon on Oneida Lake while fishing for walleyes. He was fishing at the time with fishing buddy Jerry Northrup and trolling with a willow leaf, glow green spinner, behind a two-ounce sinker. He caught the fish just west of Dakin Shoal in about 25 feet of water. Lougnot, who is a member of the Eastern Lake Ontario Salmon and Trout Association (ELOSTA), said as soon as he hooked the fish he had no doubt. He said he knew by the way his rod was bending and not pulsating, the fish's color and length and by the way "the fish came flying out of the water like a torpedo 60 feet behind the boat" that it was an Atlantic. "We landed the fish, removed the hook, taped it out, took a picture of it with my old camera - and then it was immediately released," he said. "To me, that was like getting a 28-inch walleye out of Oneida Lake. It's a trophy." Many anglers confuse Atlantic salmon with brown trout. Distinguishing features of Atlantic salmon are the "X" markings on their sides, the short face of the fish and the length of the mouth. Atlantics have a smaller mouth than brown trout, and they also have a forked tail and a narrowing on the body just before the tail. Atlantic salmon were once plentiful in Oneida Lake, spawning each year on the lake's tributaries - particularly on Fish Creek at the lake's eastern end. Early settlers harvested them with pitch forks during their annual spawning run. Eventually, they disappeared in the lake with the advent of industrialization, dams, pollution and deforestation. In 1997, the Atlantic Salmon Fish Creek Club began an effort to restore the native species by starting a small hatchery. The club purchased eggs from Maine, raised the fish to small fingerlings and then releasing them into Fish Creek. The group, which in 2003 changed its name to the Fish Creek Atlantic Salmon Club, has been raising and releasing the fingerlings ever since in Fish Creek. Jim Lawler, of Camden, the club's president, said although others have reported catching good-sized Atlantics out of Oneida Lake, this is the "only one that's been verified as being that big." "We've been stocking these fish for 17 years. It's probably a 6 ½ or 7-year-old fish," he said. "And for it to live that long shows they're taking hold and doing good. When we first put it in, it was about two inches long on the east branch of Fish Creek, where we stock most of the fish. "They stay in the creek for a couple of years, until they're about 6 inches long when they smolt and they go downstream looking for the ocean," he added. " For them, Oneida Lake is the ocean. They'll stay there for a couple more years until they're about 18 inches long, and then they come back and spawn (in Fish Creek), and go back and forth several times." This year, the club stocked 45,000 fingerlings into Fish Creek, Lawler said. "We usually put about 30,000 fish, but we got some additional fish from Vermont from the hatchery on Lake Champlain," Lawler said. To read more about Atlantic and other salmon in the state's waters, see the DEC website. View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog

This weekend's schedule offers three different 5K/10K events, plus a duathlon (run and bike race). 1). Willow Bay 5K Run and Fitness Walk for Women, 8 a.m. Saturday, Willow Bay section of Onondaga Lake Park in Liverpool. There are mother-daughter, sister-sister, aunt-niece, and grandmother-granddaughter team awards as well as the usual overall and 5 year age group awards. Also,... This weekend's schedule offers three different 5K/10K events, plus a duathlon (run and bike race). 1). Willow Bay 5K Run and Fitness Walk for Women, 8 a.m. Saturday, Willow Bay section of Onondaga Lake Park in Liverpool. There are mother-daughter, sister-sister, aunt-niece, and grandmother-granddaughter team awards as well as the usual overall and 5 year age group awards. Also, there is the "Double Your Fun" race within the race in which women who run faster than half their age on race day receive a special award. There is no registration fee for women aged 65 years or better. For more see the Syracuse Chargers website at syracusechargers.org/willow/ 2). The Silver Scorcher, 8:30 a.m. Saturday, Community Activity Center, 139 E. Hamilton Ave., Sherrill. Event features 5 and 10K runs. For more, see sherrillny.org. 3). Du 'Nango For a Cure, a duathlon (run and bike) race. The race, which is fund-raiser for breast cancer research and hosted by the Chittenango Rotary Club, starts at 9 a.m. Saturday at Sullivan Park, 100 Jill St., Chittenango. It is a 2.5-mile run, followed by a 14.3-mile bike, with a 2.5 mile run at the end. One, two or three person teams can register. For more, see dunangoforacure.com. 4). Upstate Chiropractic Beaver Lake Run (5 and 10 K races). The race starts at 9 a.m. Sunday at the Beaver Lake Nature Center, 8477 East Mud Lake Road, Baldwinsville. After the Race fresh berry cobbler will be served. Race limited to 500 entrants. For more see the Beaver Lake Nature Center website at onondagacountyparks.com/beave-lake-nature-center. Last weekend's results: 1). Third Annual Camillus Rotary "Mule Skinner" 5K run at Towpath Days. Race, held Saturday in Camillus. Final results will be posted by Thursday on the Camillus, Solvary Geddes Rotary Club website at CSGRotary.org. 2). The Valley Nature in the City Run/Walk. This 4-mile run was held Saturday at Meachem Field, West Seneca Turnpike in Syracuse. For final results, see leonetiming.com. 3). The Great Race XXXVI. This popular, team triathlon relay event was held Sunday at Emerson Park at the northern end of Owasco Lake. For final results, see syracuse.com. 4). Cazenovoia Triathlon and Aquabike. This event, held Sunday at Lakeside Park in Cazenovia, included a sprint & intermediate triathlon & aquabike (just bike and swim) distances. For final results of the triathlons, see fleetfeetsyracuse.com. View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog

A panel discussion on "Urban Wildlife" is set for Thursday at the Syracuse Media Group's new offices in downtown Syracuse. To attend, contact Janet Barone at 470-2275 or by email at [email protected]. Tom Bugaj In preparation for Thursday's panel discussion at the Syracuse Media Group's new offices on "Urban Wildlife," Steve Joule, the DEC's chief wildlife biologist from Region 7, prepared a list of commonly asked questions and answers concerning urban, white-tailed deer. Q. Can you hunt them? A: White-tailed deer are classified as a "Game Species," and may be legally taken only by properly licensed persons during open deer hunting seasons or by special permit outside of any open season. Throughout most of New York, and elsewhere in the U.S., regulated hunting is used to help manage deer. Removal of female deer during the hunting season is the most effective and efficient method of reducing the population to more ecologically-balanced levels that lessen the threat of deer-human conflicts often associated with overabundant populations. (Editor's note: The above statement refers to statewide hunting regulations. However, many municipalities ban the discharge of firearms or shooting of a bow and arrow within the community. In addition, shooting (with a firearm or a bow) is not allowed statewide within 500 feet of an occupied building without the permission of the landowner.) Q. Should I call animal control? A. Any control technique that involves the handling of deer requires a state permit. Under ECL 11-0521, in situations where deer are causing damage to property or crops, or have become a human health or safety concern, a permit may be issued to allow landowners to kill deer on their property. Q. Can you trap them and re-locate them some other place? A: For a wide variety of reasons, capture and relocation is not considered to be a viable option for population control in NY. Aside from the many practical limitations associated with this strategy (e.g. high monetary cost and few, if any, areas that could benefit from receiving additional deer), Environmental Conservation Laws and concerns about wildlife health preclude permits being issued for capture and relocation of deer, as moving animals can spread disease (including Chronic Wasting Disease) and parasites to the local deer population. Capture and relocation is extremely stressful to deer and the injury and mortality rates associated with the process are often quite high. In addition, the long term survival of relocated deer is often very low, as they are unfamiliar with their new range, and animals coming from overpopulated areas are often at a disadvantage due to their poor physical condition; up to three-quarters of relocated deer commonly succumb to malnutrition, vehicle collisions, or predation within one year. Deer that have become habituated to urban/suburban settings will often seek similar locations and may create nuisance problems at the location they were released to. The low probability of achieving any real benefit does not warrant the many risks associated with capture and relocation of deer. Q. How can I deter them from destroying my plants and getting them off my property? A: Choosing plants that are less palatable to deer may help minimize damage to ornamental flowers and shrubs. Some common ornamental plants, such as yews and rhododendrons, are highly palatable to deer and rarely escape being damaged even in areas with low deer densities, while other, less palatable plants may only be eaten in areas with overabundant deer populations or during the most severe winters. Where not prohibited by local ordinances, fencing can provide site-specific protection against deer damage. Complete exclusion requires high (10') fencing, which can be expensive to install and maintain. At the community level, fencing typically shifts the problem to unprotected sites, where the damage is, then, often intensified. Q. Can they be sterilized? A: Based on considerable research on fertility control (chemical contraception or surgical sterilization) for deer, including several studies sponsored by DEC, this strategy, alone, has not proven to be an effective means of managing free-ranging deer populations in New York. Given the limited effectiveness of fertility control, and its inability to quickly reduce deer-human conflicts, DEC does not recommend such programs unless they are combined with some form of lethal control. DEC will permit fertility control programs for free-ranging deer only as part of a scientific study designed to further our understanding of the effectiveness and practical application of such methods for manipulating deer populations. Other pertinent facts: • The deer population in New York State is estimated to be more than 1 million. There are an estimated 70,000 to 80,000 deer-vehicle collisions in NY annually. In 1990, the cost of deer/ vehicle collisions was estimated at $100 million in Wisconsin. • Although many people continue to do so, feeding deer is illegal in New York State. For reasons associated with population ecology, as well as human health and safety concerns, wildlife biologists have long-discouraged deer feeding. In 2003, a law prohibiting the practice became necessary in order to help minimize the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). First detected in western states of the U.S. in 2002, CWD is an untreatable and fatal brain and nervous system disease found in deer, elk and moose. What is wildlife management? Wildlife management consists of decisions and actions that influence animal population numbers. Deer populations in urban, suburban, or otherwise developed areas present particularly challenging management scenarios because the options available to manipulate population levels may be severely limited. The most basic deer management decision is whether or not to control deer numbers. As with most important decisions, there are trade-offs associated with choosing not to actively manage how many deer exist in a given area. If deer numbers are not controlled, people must either accept the health, safety, financial, and ecosystem consequences associated with overabundant populations or try to reduce the problems by other means - many of which are costly and may only be minimally effective. What's the best way, in the DEC's opinion, of controlling deer numbers? A: Direct removal of deer through hunting (including managed hunts with firearms or archery) or culling (including bait and shoot or capture and kill) is the most efficient and cost-effective way to stabilize or reduce deer populations and alleviate damages to private property and natural resources. ATTEND THE PANEL DISCUSSION The Syracuse Media Group (Syracuse.com/The Post-Standard) is holding a panel discussion on the topic of "Urban Wildlife" from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Thursday (Aug. 15) at the Media Group's new "Hub" at 220 Warren Street in downtown Syracuse. The public is invited to attend. Panelists will include Joule, the DEC's chief wildlife biologist from Region 7; Brian Underwood, a wildlife biologist from U.S. Geological Survey and SUNY ESF and Al LaFrance, a nuisance wildlife removal specialist. The first half of the meeting will be dedicated to the subject of deer in the city, with the last half being dedicated to other animals. To attend, contact Janet Barone at 470-2275 or by email at [email protected]. Attendance will be limited to 40 persons. If you have a question for the panelists and are unable to attend, send your questions to [email protected]. View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog

His tactic of driving some 200 miles to and from the Henderson and Chaumont bay areas on Lake Ontario, only allowing for a few hours of fishing each day, proved to be the winning formula. Brandon PalaniukBassmaster.com Idaho bass angler angler Brandon Palaniuk won the prestigious Evan Williams Bourbon Showdown on the St. Lawrence River out of Waddington, N.Y Sunday. And he did by motoring to Lake Ontario each day of the four-day competition. He bested 98 other bass fishing pros from across the country. By winning the Bassmaster Elite Series-level tournament, he earned $100,000, along with an invitation to the Bass Master Classic, which is billed as the World Series of bass fishing. Palaniuk, 26, of Rathdrum, Idaho, turned in a 4-day total of 88 pounds, 12 ounces, all smallmouth bass. His tactic of driving some 200 miles each day to and from the Henderson and Chaumont bay areas of Lake Ontario, only allowing for a few hours of fishing each day, proved to be the winning formula. Jonathon Van Dam, of Kalamazoo, Mich., the son of famed pro angler Kevin Van Dam, finished second with a total weight of 81 pounds, 4 ounces. He earned $25,000 for his efforts. Palaniuk told bassmaster.com that he primarily used a drop-shot rig. His main lure was a green pumpkin Berkley Power Bait Twitchtail Minnow. He also used the same bait in a clear silver shiner color. The thin tail and 3-inch size was key to taking the smallmouth. In these types of tournaments, the anglers are allowed to fish in connected waterways, provided there's no "off-limit restrictions," said Mike Cusano, of Clay, a former NY Bass Chapter Federation president who has ran a number of Bassmaster competitions at the state level. "It's risky, though. There's no guarantee you're going to get back in time," Cusano said. "Everyone knew the bigger fish were in Lake Ontario. They didn't want to gamble. There's always a chance you'd come back with zero fish or zero weight." See the final results on bassmaster.com. . View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog

She was bottom fishing at the time with night crawlers. Submitted photo Felicity Ryan, 12 of Wilton,, NY hooked this 18-inch, smallmouth bass while fishing in Skaneateles Lake at her grandparents' summer home. She was bottom fishing at the time with night crawlers. View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog

It was caught on White Deer Lake. His mom's family, the Simons, have been camping at this 60-acre, remote lake for over 40 years. Submitted photo Vincent, Krizman, 9, of Manlius, proudly holds a 19-inch, largemouth bass he caught with a grub lure wading to his knees in White Deer Lake in the the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, Eagle River area of Wisconsin. His mom's family, the Simons, have been camping at this 60- acre, remote lake for over 40 years. Vincent and his sister, Ella, released all of the fish they caught. View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog