endangered species

Coyote or Wolf? Learn to Spot The Difference

October 15, 2022 by Editorial Staff 2 Comments

Last month, genetic testing confirmed that a canid killed by a hunter in Otsego County in 2021 was a wolf. The New York State Department of Conservation (DEC) has documented a few wolves and wolf hybrids over the last 20 years in New York.

In most cases, analyses indicated these animals were released from captivity, but wild wolves are present in portions of Ontario and Quebec, and it is possible for these animals to travel into New York. [Read more…] about Coyote or Wolf? Learn to Spot The Difference

Advocates Urge NY Officials Not To Remove Wolf From Endangered Species List

October 1, 2022 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

Adirondack Council has called upon the NYS Dept. Environmental Conservation to drop a previously announced plan to remove the gray wolf from New York’s endangered species list. [Read more…] about Advocates Urge NY Officials Not To Remove Wolf From Endangered Species List

DEC: Animal Killed By Hunter In Cooperstown Was A Wolf

September 28, 2022 by Peter Bauer 2 Comments

On September 21st, 2022, after a second independent DNA study confirmed that the wolf killed outside of Cooperstown, in Otsego County, NY, was really a wolf, the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) reversed course and announced the wolf was indeed a wolf.

DEC had been calling the Cooperstown wolf a coyote since it examined the dead animal in December 2021 and conducted a DNA study in early 2022. DEC publicly called the wolf a coyote in July in many news reports, after the release of an independent DNA study by Trent University in Canada, organized by the Northeast Ecological Recovery Society (NERS).

The Trent University DNA analysis found that the Cooperstown wolf had 98% wolf genes. [Read more…] about DEC: Animal Killed By Hunter In Cooperstown Was A Wolf

38 Groups Call On DEC To Protect Wolves in New York State

September 21, 2022 by Peter Bauer Leave a Comment

The plot continues to thicken around the killing of an 85-pound wolf near Cooperstown in December of 2021 and the response by the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).

Under state and federal law, a wolf that wanders into New York State is protected under the Endangered Species Act. The wolf shot near Cooperstown by a coyote hunter clearly enjoyed no such protections. [Read more…] about 38 Groups Call On DEC To Protect Wolves in New York State

Watch For Threatened Mooneye

September 10, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Mooneye are listed as a threatened species in New York, which prohibits their importation, transportation, possession or sale.

The mooneye is a medium-sized fish, usually reaching 10-14 inches in length and 1-2 pounds in weight. It has a flattened body (like a sunfish) with very silver scales (like a shiner). Mooneye can often be mistaken for members of the herring/shad family and suckers. [Read more…] about Watch For Threatened Mooneye

Birding Spotlight: Bicknell’s Thrush

July 23, 2022 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

On the cold, coniferous mountaintops of the Catskills and Adirondacks lives a native bird that is a High Priority Species of Greatest Conservation Need: the Bicknell’s Thrush.

Nesting in the low branches of stunted conifers, Bicknell’s Thrush exclusively relies on high altitude spruce-fir forests in the northeast to nest and raise chicks. Bicknell’s Thrush is considered one of the most at-risk songbirds in eastern North America and highly vulnerable to habitat loss. [Read more…] about Birding Spotlight: Bicknell’s Thrush

Rattlesnake Makes Surprise Visit to Delaware County Living Room

July 23, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

According to a press release issued by DEC, on July 6th at approximately 3 am, NYS Environmental Conservation Officer Osborne responded to a complaint of a rattlesnake in a residence in the town of Hancock, Delaware County, NY. [Read more…] about Rattlesnake Makes Surprise Visit to Delaware County Living Room

The Endangered Blanding’s Turtle: A Primer

July 3, 2022 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

As spring warms the water, a turtle, covered by leaves and mud at the bottom of a wetland where she hibernated for the winter, awakens. Emerging from the water, she basks on shore. The sun illuminates her bright yellow throat and her high, domed shell, or carapace, dark and shiny with light flecks.

The underside of her shell, or plastron, is yellow with black patches around the edges. The plastron is hinged, so the turtle can retreat inside and partially close her shell. At 7 to 9 inches long, she is much larger than the familiar painted turtle. This is a Blanding’s turtle, named for the early Pennsylvania physician and naturalist, William Blanding, who first described the species in the early 1800s. [Read more…] about The Endangered Blanding’s Turtle: A Primer

DEC Says Lake Sturgeon Recovery Close; Planning Removal from Threatened Species List

January 29, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced the release of the 2021 Lake Sturgeon Population Assessment Status Report.

Lake sturgeon can live for more than 100 years and grow to seven feet in length, making them the largest freshwater fish in New York. Because of this long lifespan and delayed sexual maturity, lake sturgeon are incredibly vulnerable to over-fishing and population depletion. [Read more…] about DEC Says Lake Sturgeon Recovery Close; Planning Removal from Threatened Species List

Annual Lake Sturgeon Stocking Complete

October 29, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

New York State’s Oneida Fish Hatchery and partners from the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s Genoa National Fish Hatchery recently stocked more than 23,000 lake sturgeon fingerlings across their New York range.

Lake sturgeon are raised at both hatcheries from eggs taken from wild fish in early June near the Moses-Saunders Dam in Massena, NY. By the time they’re stocked they’ve grown to about seven inches in just four and a half months. [Read more…] about Annual Lake Sturgeon Stocking Complete