A letter from the Livingston County Federation of Sportsman’s Clubs to New York Sportsmen. “The Department of Environmental Conservation,(DEC),ABANDONS NEW YORK SPORTSMEN AND SPORTSWOMEN. SUBTITLE: This is a NEW YORK statewide concern,but it IMMEDIATELY affects REGION 8. THE DEC DOES NOT SUPPORT and TERMINATED the NATIONAL AND FISHING DAY CELEBRATION AT THE REGION 8, EAST AVON HEAD QUARTERS.
As you start to read this letter, please REMEMBER, the present DEC commissioners and very HIGH LEVEL positions are political appointments by the liberal, anti-gun, anti-2nd amendment, anti-hunting GOVERNOR COUMO. Thus, the cards are on the table on how decisions and policies are formulated.
For 42 years the celebration of NATIONAL HUNTING AND FISHING DAY has been held on the DEC Region 8 site on routes 5 and 20, in the town of AVON.
For years the DEC handled a good part of the set-up and administration necessities, but the LIVINGSTON COUNTY FEDERATION OF SPORTSMEN CLUBS was always involved, supplying manpower with all the items that were needed to make this a successful celebration. The DEC was a friend to sportsmen and women in those days, and took the opportunity to sell HUNTING AND FISHING LICENSES to the many interested attendees of the event.
As years went by, and as the DEC budgets were reduced, the LIVINGSTON COUNTY FEDERATION and its affiliated club members took on almost all of the duties to put on this weekend show every 4th weekend in September.
The DEC eventually decided that selling HUNTING AND FISHING LICENSES did not contribute to the well being of hunting and fishing and STOPPED SELLING LICENSES.
Our Region 8 celebration of NHFD has been an excellent tribute to all the sportsmen, women, and children in upstate NEW YORK; which carried on the NATIONAL TRADITION of a NATIONAL HUNTING AND FISHING DAY event.
The event, at the Region 8 DEC site, had all that was needed to insure a quality show. It was a family event that instilled the sporting traditions and excitement in the women, men and children that attended. It was an example of reaching out to show our peers what mentoring, camaraderie, outdoor recreation, sportsmen’s values, and many other significant segments of life were all about.
We had many excellent vendors, bow shooting, shotgun shooting, DEC forestry, invasive species displays, canoeing, kayaking, fishing, great food, and others.
This now has all COME TO A HALT AND CLOSURE.
The present DEC REGION 8 NATURAL RESOURCE DIRECTOR, MR. JOHN GIBBS, (who has no understanding, and does not care about how to promote hunting and fishing in NEW YORK STATE), along with the REGION 8 DIRECTOR, MR. PAUL D’AMATO, and ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER, KATHY MOSER, (all political appointees and non-supporters of our hunting traditions), have decided that they will NO LONGER ISSUE the TRP, (TEMPORARY REVOCABLE PERMIT), that is required to hold the NHFD CELEBRATION at the DEC HEADQUARTERS.
Thus, this decision resulted in a resolution that THE DEC WILL NO LONGER SUPPORT NATIONAL HUNTING AND FISHING DAY at the REGION 8 SITE, and has turned its back on the NEW YORK sportsmen and women that consider the DEC to be the mentor and final say in fishing and hunting policy.
THE REGION 8 DIRECTOR claims, in a letter he wrote to the LIVINGSTON COUNTY FEDERATION OF SPORTSMEN CLUBS, that he was concerned with his own budget and could NOT support our celebration.
It is unfortunate that MR. PAUL D’AMATO has little understanding in what his resources actually did, as compared to the VAST MAJORITY of work and set up that was completed by the LIVINGSTON COUNTY personnel. He, and the rest on his ANTI-NHFD PEERS have had no trouble spending MILLIONS of DOLLARS on LAND PURCHASES, GATE INSTALLATIONS, and miscellaneous STUDIES that provide MINIMAL benefit to the majority of the NEW YORK STATE’S HUNTING AND FISHING COMMUNITY, but CAN’T AFFORD the minimal expenses to support NATIONAL HUNTING AND FISHING DAY.
What is also ironic, is that the DEC site, in reality, is public land, supported by our taxes as is the salaries of the DEC agents.
This is unacceptable, and decisions like this are so discouraging that it hurts all sportsmen throughout the STATE of New York. This sets an awareness that the DEC upper management IS NOT a FRIEND OF OUR SPORTSMEN and WOMEN, and DOES NOT SUPPORT HUNTING and FISHING initiatives as they falsely advertise in all their camouflaged pro-hunting programs.
THANK YOU
Robert A. Ciecierega
Vice President
Livingston County Federation of Sportsman’s Clubs
Geneseo, New York 14454
1-585-243-3356 and e-mail- rciecierega@hotmail.comms”