Syracuse.com - Condition of unofficial Onondaga Lake boat launch site irks duck hunters

[HuntingNY-News]

The late season for duck hunting in the Western Zone (which includes Onondaga Lake) opens Monday and ends Jan. 10.

There’s a group of local duck hunters who each year hunt on Onondaga Lake, and they aren’t too happy this Christmas season.

Workers recently put down a layer of stones that completely covers the area of a future state boat launch on Onondaga Lake, off the Solvay exit of westbound Interstate 690.

The situation has irked some hunters who have been using the unofficial site for years to launch their boats and hunt for birds that are migrating through on the lake’s undeveloped southern shoreline.

Ron Falkowski, president of The Wildfowlers Association of Central New York, said the stones could make the launch inaccessible to many hunters. He noted that the late season for duck hunting in the Western Zone (which includes the lake) opens Monday and ends Jan. 10.

“You’re going to get boat trailers down there, and tires are going to cause ruts and stuff, making it difficult for people to launch,” he said.

Some hunters will still be able to easily launch car-top craft at the site, Falkowski added.

The only other launch site on the lake is the county-owned marina at Onondaga Lake Park on the northern shore in the village of Liverpool. It’s open during the winter but carries a $7.50 launch fee, payable at an honor box. Duck hunters can use it, but their firearms must be unloaded and in a gun case, said Bill Lansley, county parks commissioner.

“You just can’t bring a loaded, uncased firearm into the park,” he said.

Falkowski wrote earlier this month to Tracy Smith, the project manager for the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

“The stone that was placed on the area you refer to was placed to prevent human exposure to contaminated material that is present below the stone,” Smith emailed back. “The stone was rolled following placement, but no additional work is planned for this construction season.”

I talked Wednesday morning to Ken Lynch, regional director for the DEC’s Region 7, and he confirmed that nothing will be done this year to make the Solvay launch more usable.

“We don’t have anything immediately planned,” he said. “Honeywell will work on the site beginning early next year (depending on the weather) in preparation for their dredging project. Hopefully, they will be able to provide some temporary access that won’t conflict with the dredging operation.”

Lynch said the problem with access at the site for this hunting season is an “interim problem,” and emphasized “once the dredging is complete, a full-fledged boat launch will be put in there.”

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog