August Outdoor Discovery: Join DEC at the Great NYS Fair, bring the family fishing at Hempstead Lake or cycle the Erie Canalway

Join Us at the Great NYS Fair

Head to Syracuse to experience the Great NYS Fair August 22 through September 3!

Try fishing for free with two family fishing clinics at the pond in the New York Experience festival grounds on Thursday, August 23 and Sunday, August 26. Admission is free on those dates for anyone presenting a valid New York State sporting license at the gate.

At the Aquarium Building

DEC staff will be selling sporting licenses at the license sales counter, as well as habitat access stamps featuring the barred owl. A live owl will be on display during the first three days of the Fair.
The ever-popular aquarium tanks will feature freshwater fish and turtles that represent the species you can find in streams, lakes and ponds throughout the state.

The environmental conservation officers and forest rangers will be available to answer questions about the work they do. Visit the information booth to get a great deal on a Conservationist magazine subscription and enter to win a free lifetime freshwater fishing license.

Saratoga Tree Nursery tree seedlings will be given away each day at the new Expo Center.

Save time at the gate and purchase your advance sale tickets online.

Visit a State Campground or Recreation Area This Summer

DEC and the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (State Parks) reminds New Yorkers to get outdoors and visit any of the State's many campgrounds and parks. Campgrounds are open through late summer, and many remain open in the early fall. New York State boasts 119 public campgrounds throughout the Adirondacks, Catskills, Finger Lakes, Long Island, Hudson and Mohawk valleys, Southern Tier, Western New York and Thousand Islands regions. Check  campsite availability for this weekend!

Attendance at State Park campgrounds and DEC campgrounds and day use areas is up almost eight percent so far this season, and 2018 looks to be a record-breaking year. The following campgrounds have plenty of vacancy throughout the remainder of the summer:

• Crown Point
• Sharp Bridge
• Taylor Pond
• Beaverkill
• Kenneth L. Wilson
• Point Comfort
• Sacandaga
• Bear Spring Mountain
• Bowman Lake
• Oquaga Creek
• Cayuga Lake
• Newtown Battlefield
• Max V. Shaul
• Eel Weir
• Robert Moses (Thousand Islands)

Summer Family Fishing Clinics on Long Island

Want to find a sport the whole family, from toddlers to grandparents, can enjoy? Try fishing! The perfect place to start is at the annual Summer Family Fishing Clinic on Saturday, August 4 at Hempstead Lake State Park from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Participants fish for free--no freshwater fishing license is required. Learn how to fly-fish, cast and identify local fish. Loaner rods are available, along with free bait and fish cleaning.
For those who want to try crabbing or saltwater fishing, visit Corey Beach in Blue Point on August 15 from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. for another free fishing clinic.

For more information, please call DEC's I FISH NY: 631-444-0283. Visit DEC's website for more free fishing clinic locations.

Hike and Bike of the Month: The Canalway Trail

Among New York State's hundreds of miles of scenic bike routes, the most famous is the network of roads and former rail lines that follow the historic Erie Canal from Albany to Buffalo. This 360-mile route attracts thousands of bikers and hikers annually. You can travel between quaint villages, or become an “end-to-ender”, traveling the entire distance in one multi-day trip or in segments over a longer time period.

Watchable Wildlife: Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History

Chautauqua County

Named for the naturalist, artist and author of a popular field guide series, the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History is dedicated to instilling in visitors an appreciation and understanding of the natural world. The institute houses a museum and galleries showcasing Peterson’s iconic paintings of birds. The site of the institute encompasses 27 acres on which an interpretive trail winds through forest, field and marsh. While walking along this trail, you might see amphibians, reptiles, waterfowl, owls, wading birds, raptors, game birds, songbirds, small mammals and white-tailed deer, depending on the time of year. Using a (Peterson, of course) field guide and a pair of binoculars during your walk will help enhance your wildlife viewing.

Nature Notes

Great horned owls are fierce predators with an appetite for skunks (an unusual yet regular part of their diet), birds (hawks and waterfowl) and mammals (commonly mouse to rabbit size).

In the August Conservationist

Check out the August issue of the Conservationist. Ride along with young kids visiting State Parks for the first time, and enjoy beautiful photos of wildlife while learning some tips on being an ethical outdoor photographer. Read how DEC helped restore habitat for lupine and frosted elfins at Rome Sand Plains, and discover how a new fish ladder is enabling spawning alewives to reach Beaver Lake for the first time in a century. You can also learn about the state’s mallard population and find out how harmful algal blooms (HABs) are affecting New York waterways and efforts being done to protect our lakes and streams. There’s this and more in the August Conservationist.

Don't miss it! Subscribe online or call 1-800-678-6399.

Upcoming DEC Events

Ribbit, Slither, Croak!, 8/4 at 10 a.m., Reinstein Woods EEC

Fungi with a Fun Guy, 8/11 at 10 a.m., Five Rivers EEC

Wildlife Walk, 8/18 at 10 a.m., Five Rivers EEC

Woods Walk: Nature Guide's Choice, 8/18 at 11 a.m., Reinstein Woods EEC

Do you ever wonder what lurks beneath the surface of the Hudson River? Join naturalists on Saturday, August 11th for the Great Hudson River Estuary Fish Count to find out! The count takes place at 19 sites along the banks and piers of the Hudson from New York City to the Capital Region. During this family-friendly, free event, participants are invited to explore the amazing variety of slippery, wriggly, and fascinating creatures usually hidden below the river's surface. You can watch from shore, or jump into available waterproof waders and help pull in the net. The fish are released after everyone has a chance to see them up close.