DEC may lose millions in federal funds

[shu9265]

http://www.registerstar.com/articles/2011/07/05/columnists/outdoors/doc4e126b96d5054803158819.txt

[WNYBuckHunter]

DEC may lose millions in federal funds       

                  By Dick Nelson    Published:  Tuesday, July 5, 2011 2:09 AM EDT

Forget the fireworks, the most explosive news over the Fourth of  July weekend was the acknowledgment that New York may lose its share of  Pittman-Robinson (P-R), Dingle-Johnson and Wallop-Breaux  funding —  money collected from excise taxes on sporting equipment such as  firearms, ammunition, bows, arrows, fishing rods, reels and other  related equipment.

Those taxes, which are administered by the U.S  Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), are distributed to the states, with  New York’s annual share amounting to more than $20 million.

Even  in this day and age, when gains and loses are measure in the billions  and trillions, $20 million is still a considerable amount of money, and  if we lose it, you can place the blame on Gov. Andrew Cuomo, whose  2011-12 budget allows the state Department of Budget (DOB) to tap into  the Conservation Fund (and other dedicated accounts) to balance the  books. And there, according to the Department of Environmental  Conservation (DEC) Division of Fish, Wildlife and Marine Resources  Assistant Director Doug Stang, lies the problem.

“Even if the DOB  has no intent on using conservation fund money for other reasons than  its intent, the fact that the budget allows for them to do so is enough  for the USFWS to withhold P-R and other funding,” Stang said, adding  that “the conservation fund would be in deep trouble without it.”

        Federal funding from P-R pays for up to 75-percent of project  costs, with the states putting up at least 25-percent. The assurance of a  steady source of earmarked funds has enabled the program’s  administrators, both State and Federal, to plan projects that take years  to complete, as short-term strategies seldom come up with lasting  solutions where living creatures are involved.

In the more than  50 years since P-R began, over $2 billion in Federal excise taxes have  been matched by more than $500 million in State funds (chiefly from  hunting license fees) for wildlife restoration. Benefits to the economy  have been equally impressive.

National surveys show that hunters  now spend some $10 billion every year on equipment and trips, providing  for thousands of jobs; and while Pittman-Robertson is financed wholly by  firearms users and archery enthusiasts, its benefits cover a much  larger number of people who never hunt, but do enjoy such wildlife  pastimes as bird watching, nature photography, painting and sketching  and a wide variety of other outdoor pursuits.

In defense of the  DEC, this situation isn’t unique to New York. It’s happened in other  states including New Jersey, Connecticut and Kansas, and if it were up  to Stang and others in the agency, this inexcusable action would have  never developed. But it’s not. It is both the Cuomo administration and  state lawmakers who are at fault and unless they come up with something  that will satisfy the USFWS by July 15, we can kiss the federal funding  goodbye.

On the other hand, it’s not that the DEC wasn’t aware of  this possibility. During the April meeting of the Conservation Fund  Advisory Board, I asked DEC Commissioner Joe Martens if there was any  truth that Gov. Cuomo had any plans of transferring money from the  conservation fund to the general fund to reduce the state’s deficit and  was told in no uncertain terms, no — even though he knew (or should have  known) that the budget allowed for it.

It’s not that the  conservation fund wasn’t raided in the past. Gov. Cuomo’s father Mario  did it when he was governor — transferring $20 million into the general  fund in 1990, replacing $15 million of it a few years later.

        During that time, Commissioner Martens served as Assistant  Secretary to the Governor for Energy and the Environment and was later  named Deputy Secretary.

In any event, sportsmen need to contact  their state legislatures and tell them to rescind the language in the  2011-12 budget that allows the DOB to use your sporting license fees,  and other conservation fund money, for anything then what it was  intended.

News and Notes: Area hunters who  travel to Pennsylvania to hunt deer, bear and other wild game should be  happy to hear that legislation was introduced (HB 1760) to end the ban  on Sunday hunting in the Keystone State.

The legislation comes on  the heels of the Pennsylvania Game Commission passing a resolution  supporting the idea of ending the ban on hunting on Sundays. HB 1760  would lift the ban and shift authority to regulate Sunday hunting from  the General Assembly, where it currently resides, to the Game  Commission. Pennsylvania is one of only seven states that doesn’t permit  Sunday hunting.

In a somewhat related matter, a federal appeals  court recently decreed that the National Park Service can continue to  use sharpshooters to reduce the number of deer at Valley Forge National  Historical Park. The three-judge panel on Monday rejected arguments by  two animal rights groups who said officials had failed to consider  alternatives, such as more coyotes.

Officials hope to reduce the  white-tail deer population from an estimated 1,277 before the program  began last fall to less than 200. They say the herd is devouring the  native forest and crowding out other species.

— His name may not  be familiar to everyone who has purchased a sporting license, but Harold  “Bud” Woodfield was — as the representative of the Fish and Wildlife  Management Board to the Conservation Fund Advisory Board from 1993 to  2007 — instrumental on many of the changes in fish and wildlife  programs. A lifelong hunter, fisherman and trapper, Bud was a strong  advocate of the sports and, over the course of his life, received dozens  of awards in recognition of his support and dedication, capped off with  his induction into the New York State Outdoorsman Hall of Fame in 2007.  Bud passed away last week. He was 88.

Dropping anchor ‘til next time.

[wdswtr]

I would love to say I am suprised but guess Im not.  I think we need a list of legislatures with contact info on here.  Make it a sticky so we can revert to it whenever we need to be heard, which is all the time.  Can his be done?

[Doc]

Those of us that thought that it could never happen now get to read about it. I have often thought that the DEC was simply a well that politicians go to whenever they need to pay a bit on their squandering ways. They have just gotten very creative about it. Here is yet another example. Perhaps they have now gone just a bit too far this time and created a bit of larceny that is just too big to cover up or bury in financial mumbo-jumbo. We'll see.

[bainbridgedan]

Hmmm, does this mean that we will not have to pay the extra taxes ? What happened to "taxation without representation"?

[Doc]

Hmmm, does this mean that we will not have to pay the extra taxes ? What happened to "taxation without representation"?

My guess is "No" ...... .

So anyway ...... If you ever had any doubts about where issues of environment, hunting, fishing, and nature sit on the state's priority list, this should clear up those doubts. The DEC is merely a source of revenue for the state. And all that extra money for license fees that was supposed to rescue the financials of the DEC? ...... well, I'm sure our legislators are very thankful for it right along with our P-R funds and the D-J funds. ;D  The only thing is that this attempt to steal our funds may have backfired, and perhaps nobody is going to get their hands on it.

I've got a feeling that this story is not over just yet. They got caught with their hand in the cookie jar, but it may not be too late to back out and recover if public outrage gets to be loud enough. But the interesting thing is that this whole thing, regardless of how it eventually plays out, still shows the blatant disregard and contempt that the administration has for the DEC and their responsibilities.

[nyantler]

Those of us that thought that it could never happen now get to read about it. I have often thought that the DEC was simply a well that politicians go to whenever they need to pay a bit on their squandering ways. They have just gotten very creative about it. Here is yet another example. Perhaps they have now gone just a bit too far this time and created a bit of larceny that is just too big to cover up or bury in financial mumbo-jumbo. We'll see.

Even worse than that Doc is that they don't even care if we know its going on anymore... they thumb their noses at the public and do whatever they want knowing damn well there is nothing that we have been able to do to stop it... Larceny is a good word for it! In your face larceny to be more blunt..

[bainbridgedan]

Very good points Doc! I'd like to also say that i do not like to see the federal govement stepping into states buisness's but this maybe one time it might help .

[WNYBuckHunter]

Very good points Doc! I'd like to also say that i do not like to see the federal govement stepping into states buisness's but this maybe one time it might help .

The federal government has every right to step in when a federal program is funding the state program that the state is misappropriating.

[Doc]

Yes, the money is being collected under a federal program and apportioned back to the individual states. If they see that the funds are being stolen and used inappropriately, they certainly do have a right (and duty) to enforce the intent of the program or withold the funds from the offending state. Sounds like an appropriate response by the fed.

[YoungBucksTasteBetter]

So maybe it's time to ask the conservation council (which I believe is supposed to oversee the "dedicated" conservation fund to hire the right legal team and go after the Gov and other folks who are tapping into the license monies for the general fund.  If it was supposed to be a dedicated fund and they are raiding it, the only think you really can do is take legal action to stop it.

[WNYBuckHunter]

Theyve done it in the pst, and only paid back 2/3s of it, the precedent was set back then. Now they took the lid off of the cookie jar completely and its sitting wide open. Maybe the loss of federal funds will get them to close it back up, we will see.

[Doc]

Theyve done it in the pst, and only paid back 2/3s of it, the precedent was set back then. Now they took the lid off of the cookie jar completely and its sitting wide open. Maybe the loss of federal funds will get them to close it back up, we will see.

That's what I think will happen. I don't think they saw the action by the fed coming. This now puts a very public aspect to their little light-fingered scheme. I don't think they have much choice but to quietly close up the trap-door to the funds and satisfy the original intent of the federal program.

Frankly I believe they cannot run the DEC without those funds and shutting down the DEC is not an option. In other words, if they don't make things right, things will get very messy. It's a political nightmare. They have to make it right ...... or at least I hope that's the way it all works out.

[WNYBuckHunter]

I agree and am hoping the same thing Doc

[growalot]

So how did Mario Cuomo get away with it in 1990? G.Bush was in office..republicans being hunters and sports man....where was the feds then and was a deal made that allowed it?...is this posturing for a possible political maneuver to be made? ...Don't think we can sit back and hope for the best

[nyantler]

So how did Mario Cuomo get away with it in 1990? G.Bush was in office..republicans being hunters and sports man....where was the feds then and was a deal made that allowed it?...is this posturing for a possible political maneuver to be made? ...Don't think we can sit back and hope for the best

Good point... I think we have all learned that when it comes to money you can't trust politicians at all

[Doc]

Don't think we can sit back and hope for the best

I'm not really sure what the options are for making sure that things come out the way we want them to. Perhaps this is where our sportsmen's organizations get a chance to be tested on their strength and power. As individuals we can write the usual letters of protest, but I've got to say that sportsmen are not the most organized of people since we don't seem to believe in that sort of thing. So I'm not sure just where the ground-swell of protest and leadership is going to be coming from. Frankly it likely will turn out that "hoping for the best" is the only option that really will come about .....lol.

[gundeck]

Hmmm, does this mean that we will not have to pay the extra taxes ? What happened to "taxation without representation"?

You have had no representation for a long, long time.  You don't make nearly enough money to be represented.