Wildlife, Fish & Marine Life Newsletter

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation sent this bulletin on 09/01/2020 09:06 AM EDT
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
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Wildlife, Fish, and Marine Life Newsletter

DEC Releases Draft Access and Public Use Plan for Tioughnioga Wildlife Management Area

Field at Tioghnioga WMAA draft Access and Public Use Plan for Tioughnioga Wildlife Management Area (WMA) is complete and available for public comment. The draft Access and Public Use Plan's objectives include maintaining existing roads, trails, and water resources; increasing the number of information kiosks on the property; and building an accessible wildlife observation tower. A priority activity on WMAs is wildlife-dependent recreation, such as hunting, trapping, fishing, and wildlife observation.

DEC invites the public to provide comments on the Draft Tioughnioga Access and Public Use Plan until September 15, 2020. You can send comments to NYSDEC Bureau of Wildlife, Region 7, 1285 Fisher Avenue, Cortland, NY, 13045 or by email with the subject line 'Tioughnioga WMA Access and Public Use Plan.

Tioughnioga WMA contains 3,744 acres of wild lands in southwestern Madison County between the villages of New Woodstock and Erieville. It is a well-known destination for hunters, in part due to its extensive apple orchards. The area is managed to have a mix of early successional habitats, mature forests, and scattered small wetlands and ponds to create healthy and diverse habitat.

Fish Barrier Dam Facelift in Saint Regis Canoe Area

Fish barrier dam on Little Fish PondFish barrier dams are an essential tool to protect native and restored fish communities from non-native species that could devastate native fish populations.

The Little Fish Pond barrier dam is the lowermost fish barrier dam protecting the waters of the Saint Regis Canoe Area from invasion by non-native species. It was built prior to one of the biggest reclamation projects in New York State history. From 1952-1954, 14 ponds and 21 miles of inlets, outlets, river, and tributaries were treated to restore wild trout populations.

The main part of this dam was rehabilitated in 2015 and 2016 by Region 5 fisheries staff and the Student Conservation Association (SCA). In 2020, fisheries staff built a new splash deck to prevent soil erosion in the river below the dam from forming a jump pool that invasive fish could use to jump the dam. From start to finish, DEC and SCA staff have spent nearly 1,100 labor-hours on this dam. The improvements should protect these valuable resources while providing a unique angling experience for many years to come.