To survive the cold of winter, some animals take advantage of protected habitats, such as wooded areas or under a blanket of insulating snow. Ruffed grouse, for example, fly into piles of loose snow and create roosting cavities to rest in when not foraging. Mice and other small mammals remain active in tunnels under the snow. [Read more…] about How Animals Stay Warm In Winter
Nature
Whitetail Antler Sheds & Deer Health
Throughout the winter months, whitetail bucks cast off or “shed” their antlers in response to dropping testosterone levels associated with increasing daylight. Many outdoor enthusiasts search for these shed antlers as collectibles, use them to build lamps or furniture, and determine which bucks made it through the hunting season. [Read more…] about Whitetail Antler Sheds & Deer Health
As Lake Champlain Lake Trout Rebound, Stocking Reduced
The Lake Champlain Fish and Wildlife Management Cooperative – a working group of fisheries professionals from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – have announced the decision to further reduce the number of stocked lake trout released annually into Lake Champlain waters. They said this decision was prompted by the continued increase in natural reproduction and the documentation of multiple age classes of wild fish. [Read more…] about As Lake Champlain Lake Trout Rebound, Stocking Reduced
Hot To Avoid Coyote Conflicts
Coyote sightings are likely to increase in the coming months and New Yorkers should be aware of the potential for conflicts and guidelines to prevent negative encounters. [Read more…] about Hot To Avoid Coyote Conflicts
The Return of the Ospreys
On my commute to the Northern Woodlands offices in Lyme, New Hampshire, I pass a long-established osprey nest, perched atop a very tall electric tower next to Route 302. This location offers the ospreys a view of their surroundings – and provides me with a view of the ospreys from the road.
My early morning drive is brighter now, on the season’s edge, than it was in the heart of winter, and I have been craning my neck lately to get a look at the nest – and hoping to see a raptor or two perched on its edge or soaring nearby. [Read more…] about The Return of the Ospreys
Erratic Fisher Spurs Emergency Response
On February 17th, Environmental Conservation Officers (ECOs) Gross and Levanway responded to a call from a teller at the Lyons National Bank in Seneca Falls, Seneca County, NY, reporting a fisher running laps around the building. [Read more…] about Erratic Fisher Spurs Emergency Response
Men Arrested For Drinking, Driving and Hunting
On February 15, after a weeks-long investigation, New York State Environmental Conservation Officers (ECOs) charged two men in Onondaga County with more than a dozen violations related to a hunting incident and drunk driving arrest in January. [Read more…] about Men Arrested For Drinking, Driving and Hunting
DEC Privatizes Management Planning for Popular Areas of Adirondack, Catskill Parks
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced the award of a Visitor Use Management (VUM) planning contract to help develop recreation plans for two highly visited regions of the New York State Forest Preserve — a high-use portion of the High Peaks in the Adirondack Park and the Kaaterskill Clove area in the Catskill Park. [Read more…] about DEC Privatizes Management Planning for Popular Areas of Adirondack, Catskill Parks
Common Ground Alliance Offers Adirondack Recommendations
The Adirondack Common Ground Alliance (CGA) is a network of stakeholders focused on addressing issues that affect the Adirondack Park – specifically, though not exclusively, environmental protection, economic development, and community vitality.
Their goal is to facilitate dialogue and identify collaborative solutions that improve the Park and its communities for generations to come. Since 2007, CGA has organized an annual forum, yielding an agreed upon set of recommendations for state action referred to as the “Blueprint for the Blue Line.” [Read more…] about Common Ground Alliance Offers Adirondack Recommendations
NYS Senate, Assembly Budget Plans Add Millions For Adirondack Priorities
Adirondack Park advocates are applauding the NY Senate and Assembly one-house budget proposals, each of which proposed millions of additional dollars to Adirondack and environmental investments above current funding levels put forward in Gov. Kathy Hochul’s recent budget plan. [Read more…] about NYS Senate, Assembly Budget Plans Add Millions For Adirondack Priorities