History, Natural History & the Arts
The shortnose sturgeon was the first fish listed as endangered with enactment of the 1973 Endangered Species Act.
Soon after, researchers conducted a population estimate for Hudson River shortnose sturgeon in order to develop recommendations for managing the recovery of this fish.
A second population study in the 1990s indicated a substantial increase in the spawning population from the 1970s. [Read more…] about Shortnose Sturgeon: New Population Study Underway
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has reported a milestone in the restoration of the Genesee River following the collection of a spawning female lake sturgeon in the lower Genesee for the first time in more than 50 years. [Read more…] about After 50 Years Lake Sturgeon Found Spawning in Genesee River
Bicknell’s Thrush was first identified by American amateur ornithologist Eugene Bicknell on Slide Mountain in the Catskills in the late 19th century.
This rare songbird prefers our State’s higher peaks and will soon be returning from its winter residency in Hispaniola. [Read more…] about Bicknell’s Thrush: A History Podcast
In 1854, Samuel H. Hammond, a prominent attorney, newspaper writer and editor, State Senator and sportsman, wrote in Hills, Lakes, and Forest Streams: or A Tramp in the Chateaugay Woods (1854) about a sporting trip with his guide to Tupper Lake in the Adirondacks.
Hammond described a world that was considerably different than today, thanks to logging, blasting, damming, and flooding. He wrote in his diary: [Read more…] about Extinction: Passenger Pigeons Once Darkened The Skies
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is accepting public comment on a revised regulatory proposal to strengthen protections for threatened and endangered wildlife in New York.
The proposal promotes sharing information between landowners and DEC staff during permit reviews for projects on lands where endangered or threatened species may be located, helping improve the pace of permit decisions and to better avoid negative impacts to vulnerable wildlife populations. [Read more…] about State Seeks Input On Endangered Species Changes
NYS Environmental Conservation Officer George LaPoint reported that he responded to a residence in the town of Hague, Warren County, for a report of a trapped timber rattlesnake at residence where a family was vacationing on August 2nd. [Read more…] about Rattlesnake Surprises Warren Co Vacationers
Before the mid-eighteenth century, turtles were largely untried as edibles in North America. For considerable time, the turtle was assumed to be poisonous. An infernal creature, a “resident of hell,” it should not be cultivated for food.
But attitudes changed. By the mid-nineteenth century, civic banquets would inevitably offer turtle on the menu. [Read more…] about When Eating Turtle Was All The Rage