The rise and fall of wildlife habitat and hunting in NYS

By Bob McNitt

It seems New Year's is often a time that many of us reflect on events of the past year and sometimes beyond. After all, history is the yard-stick reminder of where we've been, where we currently are, and where we might be heading. As a sportsmen and outdoor enthusiast, I tend to reminisce about the many changes that have occurred in our outdoor environment, and especially as they relate to wildlife, habitat and hunting opportunities, all of which have gone through major changes over the years. So I've pieced together a short overview of these from 1900 to the present.

1900-1930
The height of agriculture in the state as an abundance of small farms were present throughout New York, with the exception of the Adirondacks' rugged lands. There was an abundance of small game on the farmlands, with rabbit, squirrel and grouse being the most common. Deer were primarily confined to the Adirondacks.
1930-1940
These were the heydays of small game and upland hunting in the state. Thanks to the wonderful habitat created by the checkerboard maze of small family-run farms, species such as cottontail rabbit, gray squirrel, ruffed grouse, woodcock and pheasant were abundant, widespread and readily accessible. Deer were just beginning to show up in many areas of the state, having spread from their previous ranges in the Adirondacks and Pennsylvania.
1940-1950
Small game, and especially upland species such as grouse, pheasant and rabbit were still in abundance and widespread. However, deer were becoming more plentiful and widespread. Snowshoe rabbits (varying hare) were extremely plentiful in the numerous state forest plantations planted by the old Civilian Conservation Corps of the post-Depression era. A new predator, nicknamed the "brush wolf" (or "coydog") was expanding in the northern half of the state. It was to eventually be officially called the "Eastern Coyote."
1950-1970
Perhaps the best era for hunting in the state since all game species, both big and small, were in relative abundance, as well as widespread access was available in most agricultural areas. Large numbers of pheasants were being reared and released by both the State and private organizations such as sportsmen clubs and the 4-H. Deer had become so common the state held a special "Doe Day" on the last day of the regular deer season in many areas of the state. Farming technique changes began to negatively impact the once numerous family-run small farms, and an expansion of rural residential and commercial developments began to appear on the abandoned farmlands
1970-1990
In 1971 the NYS Conservation Department was replace by a much larger and complex agency called the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), which would be responsible for managing all aspects of the environment in addition to natural resources. It would be funded by the General Fund, but the money from all sporting license sales and appropriate gear taxes (Pittman-Robertson and Dingall-Johnson Acts) would be in a special Conservation Fund, dedicated to natural resources development and management. Thanks to the abandonment of farmland, emerging growth provided the perfect habitat for deer, whose numbers rapidly climbed during this period. A new Wild Turkey Restoration Program was also proving highly successful, and turkey hunting was just beginning to catch on. Conversely, pheasant, rabbit and hare numbers began to decrease as the once numerous low-growth habitat on abandoned farmlands grew and matured. This was also especially true in the state forest evergreen plantations as the dense maturing trees blocked sunlight from reaching ground-level flora.
1990-Present
Rapid residential and commercial development spread rapidly throughout the state, replacing natural habitat and creating abundant fringe areas that deer found attractive. The result was a steady change in where deer densities were the highest, moving from woodlands and farmlands to developed areas where hunting was either impractical or prohibited. Changes in land ownership philosophies also resulted in a decrease in private land accessible to hunters. This, along with a decline in small game numbers, especially upland species, caused overall hunter numbers to decline. However, deer and turkey hunting remained strong for several years after the decline began.
After years of refusal, the legislature finally lowered the minimum age to hunt big game to 14. This resulted in a spike in licenses and hunters, as an additional 15,000 young hunters joined the hunting fraternity. But the ink was barely dry on the new law when Governor Paterson announced that by executive decision he was closing the state's lone remaining pheasant farm (Reynolds, near Ithaca) and doing away with the entire state pheasant program as a budget cutting measure, despite the entire program being paid from sporting license money.
The Future
With the state facing a huge budget deficit, the axing of the pheasant program (despite it shearing basically nothing off the budget deficit) is a rather strong indication of the budget-cutting priorities of the current administration, which is very "environmentally oriented." Also, the amount of attention given to wildlife habitat management and improvement by the DEC has steadily been declining for many years. As such I fully expect the biggest losers in the budget trimming will involve fish, wildlife and habitat programs. Not a very rosy picture for hunting or the sportsmen/women and other outdoor enthusiasts of New York.