Two Local Deer Management Meetings Scheduled

The state Department of Environmental Conservation will holdhearings on deer management issues in two locations in the 51st District,Senator James L. Seward said today.

An Oneonta meeting for Region 4 is scheduled for Saturday, February 12 at 1 pm at the Oneonta Holiday Inn on Route 23 Southside.Travelers can take exit 15 off from I-88 and pick up Route 23 east. The Holiday Inn will be on the right side. For Herkimer area residents, a meeting is scheduled forThursday, February 15,from 7-9pm at the West Canada Valley Central School in the high school auditorium at 5447 State Route 28. Takestate route 28, between Newport and Middleville.

The DEC has scheduled a series of statewide meetings to hear comments on several proposed changes to future deer hunting seasons and to review the results of the 2004 season.These "state of the herd" meetings will feature wildlife biologists who will comment on last year's deer harvest , which is down about 20 percent from the previous year.

"I urge local conservationists and sportsmen to take the opportunity to attend the meetings sponsored by the DEC to express their concerns about deer management policy and the proposed changes advanced by the department," Seward said. "Sportsmen pay a hefty price for the right to hunt, and their voices should be heard in the discussion about state wildlife policy."

For more information, go to http://www.dec.state.ny.us/.