ADKHunter.com

Boat Launch Access and Partial Road Closure Starting Oct. 31

(10/1) The New York State Departments of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and Transportation (DOT) today announced the temporary closure of the Ticonderoga Boat Launch and an area of New York State Route 74 (west of Lake Champlain) while railroad crossing repair work is underway. Road work is expected to start Monday, Oct. 31, and will be completed by Friday, Nov. 4, 2022.

During the closure, public access to the boat launch will be prohibited. Visitors to the area are encouraged to use the Port Henry boat launch until the repair work is complete and signs will be posted at the intersection of New York State Route 22 with directions to this alternate location. Additional information on alternate boat launch sites is available on DEC’s website.

Three Lakes RMP Approved in Western ADKs

(10/1) The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has released a final recreation management plan (RMP) for the Three Lakes Tract Conservation Easement in the Town of Webb, Herkimer County. The 3,350-acre Three Lakes Tract (TLT) is comprised of commercially managed forestland and is named for three waterbodies located on the property-Hitchcock, Grass, and Moose ponds.

The final plan expands public recreational opportunities on the property, consistent with the encumbering conservation easement. The RMP proposes the following actions:

• Maintain two existing snowmobile trails totaling 4.8 miles on the property;
• Establish hiking trails connecting McCarty Road in the Independence River Wild Forest to Blue, Hitchcock, Grass, and Moose ponds on the TLT. This includes a total of 4.4 miles of trail on the conservation easement (2.9 miles will follow existing snowmobile trails and the remaining 1.5 miles will involve minimal trail construction, mostly following old skid trails or existing trails used by the lease camp located on the TLT). Additionally, a connector trail up to 0.6 miles may be constructed to the Ha-De-Ron-Dah Wilderness Area, pending proposals in the Ha-De-Ron-Dah Wilderness Unit Management Plan revision;
• Permit primitive camping throughout the property. Three primitive campsites will be established near Hitchcock, Grass, and Moose ponds. An Accessible Campsite for People with Disabilities (ACPWD) will be established near Blue Pond;
• Allow hunting, fishing, and trapping throughout the property consistent with DEC regulations;
• Allow paddling throughout the property; and
• Develop and distribute new recreation maps and information to the public.

The RMP can be viewed on the DEC website (PDF) and all questions about the Three Lakes Tract Conservation Easement can be directed to the DEC Office in Lowville at 315-376-3521.

Pheasant Hunting

(10/1) Statewide, DEC will release approximately 30,000 adult pheasants on lands open to public hunting for the upcoming fall pheasant hunting season. Many of these release sites are privately owned or managed by non-DEC governmental agencies (e.g., New York City Department of Environmental Protection, counties, or towns). Hunters are asked to be respectful of any special rules, as the pheasant propagation system relies on these outside entities to provide hunters with opportunities close to home.

The Day-old Pheasant Chick Program provides additional pheasant hunting opportunities through a partnership between DEC and sportsmen, 4H Youth and landowners that are interested in rearing and releasing pheasants. Birds from this program are raised to adulthood and released before the season opens and disperse widely, presenting a greater challenge for experienced hunters.

(9/1) Boreas Ponds Tract: On Tuesday, September 5, work will begin on a temporary bridge over LaBier Dam that will restore motor vehicle access to the Four Corners Parking Area. To prepare the work site, the pedestrian bridge currently in place over the dam will be removed starting Thursday, September 1. This will temporarily prevent all access beyond LaBier Dam for both motorists and pedestrians. Motor vehicle and pedestrian access will remain open as far as the Fly Pond Parking Area. Visitors should use caution on Gulf Brook Road due to construction equipment also using the road. Work on the temporary bridge is expected to be complete by mid-fall.

(9/1) Grass River Complex: Road improvements are being conducted on the Long Pond Conservation Easement. Expect delays/obstacles in the direction of Long Pond itself. Five Ponds Wilderness Area & William C. Whitney Wilderness: The Remsen Lake Placid Travel Corridor (Railroad) is considered an active railroad. The railroad is undergoing maintenance adjacent to the Five Ponds Wilderness Area and William C. Whitney Wilderness Area. There is an increase in traffic from trains and equipment working on rehabilitation of the railroad through this section. Users are reminded that the railroad tracks between Harrington Brook and the carry to Clear Pond and Bog Lake (Five Ponds Wilderness) are not a DEC trail and should not be used as a canoe carry when the railroad is active.

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos reminded hunters that September marks the beginning of several hunting seasons in New York State. Hunting seasons for squirrel and Canada goose begin Sept. 1 in upstate New York, and the early bear and antlerless deer seasons begin Sept. 10 in select wildlife management units (WMUs).

Sept. 1: Canada Goose Hunting Seasons Open

The September Canada goose season occurs in all goose hunting zones except the Western Long Island zone. All upstate areas are open from Sept. 1 through 25. Canada goose seasons in the Central and Eastern Long Island zones begin on Sept. 6 and run through Sept. 30. In the Western Long Island zone, the season opens Oct. 8. The September season includes liberal bag limits (eight to 15 birds per day depending on zone), extended shooting hours, and other special regulations to maximize hunter success. Additional details on waterfowl hunting regulations, season dates, hunting area boundaries, and bag limits can be found on DEC’s website.

The September goose hunting season is designed to help reduce or stabilize resident Canada goose populations. Resident Canada geese are those that breed in the U.S. and southern Canada, unlike migratory populations that breed in northern Canada. Typically, resident geese are the birds commonly associated with nuisance situations in urban and rural areas. Over the past 25 years, New York’s resident Canada goose population has grown from an estimated 80,000 birds in 1995 to more than 340,000.

As the population has grown, season lengths and bag limits were relaxed and hunters have successfully stabilized the population. The September season is an important opportunity for hunters, as regular Canada goose seasons have been restricted to 30 days and bag limits reduced to one bird in most areas to protect the more vulnerable migratory geese. Resident geese look the same as migratory geese, making it difficult for the public to distinguish between the two populations. For more information on the differences between migratory and resident geese and how these birds are managed, read the article “Canada Geese in New York–Residents or Visitors?” in the August 2019 issue of DEC’s Conservationist magazine.

Harvest Information Program (HIP) Registration

Continue reading →