Syracuse.com - DEC coordinating volunteer cormorant harassment efforts again on Oneida Lake

[HuntingNY-News]

The volunteers, who use their own boats and gas, will use pyrotechnics paid for by the Oneida Lake Association to harass the birds, but will not be allowed to shoot and kill them. A total of 50 volunteers have stepped forward to help.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation for the fourth year in a row is coordinating a volunteer effort to harass cormorants on Oneida Lake.

A new group of volunteers were trained Tuesday at the Cornell Biological Field Station in Bridgeport. The DEC is also permitting any volunteers from the past two years to participate in the hazing efforts without having to be retrained. However, all volunteers need to get new authorization forms from the DEC to participate, according Matt Snyder, an Oneida Lake Association board member.

The volunteers, who use their own boats and gas, will use pyrotechnics paid for by the Oneida Lake Association to harass the birds, but will not be allowed to shoot and kill them. A total of 50 volunteers have stepped forward to help, Snyder said.

"Volunteer hazing will be permitted during the month of September. There is no limit to the number of volunteers who can participate, provided they are trained," said Lori Severino, a DEC spokeswoman. "We will consider holding a second training session if interest warrants it."

Severino added that DEC Fish and Wildlife staff from Regions 6 and 7, along with environmental conservation officers from both regions are planning some limited harassment efforts in August and more intensive efforts in September.

"September hazing efforts by DEC staff will occur twice per week and we will also conduct cormorant counts once per week from late August through mid-October," she said. "To reduce the burden of coordinating the volunteer effort, DEC is allowing trained volunteers to conduct hazing efforts anytime during daylight hours Monday through Thursday during the month of September (excluding Labor Day).

"Because we plan to conduct cormorant counts on Fridays, we are not permitting volunteer hazing to ensure the most accurate assessment of their numbers."

DEC officials, as they've done in the past, will kill some of the birds and check their stomachs as part of a dietary study.

"From what I understand the DEC is increasing their involvement some 50 percent in time and effort compared to last year," Snyder said.

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog