Wildlife, Fish & Marine Life Newsletter

Help Protect Nesting Birds in Your Field or Yard

With more of us at home these days, you may have noticed birds taking up residence in your yard. This is a great opportunity to enjoy watching birds from home! In the spring and summer many species of birds will set up nests in shrubs (catbirds and common yellowthroats) and on tree limbs (robins, orioles, or vireos). Chickadees, nuthatches, or woodpeckers may be nesting in tree cavities. These nests may be hard to spot from the ground. To protect birds, wait until the fall to cut or prune trees and shrubs if possible. Birds such as house wrens, phoebes, and Carolina wrens often get creative and build nests on decks, porches, or sheds.
 
Fields may be habitat to ground-nesting birds, such as bobolinks or Eastern meadowlarks. They use these areas to build their nests and raise their young. You can help by doing a walkthrough before mowing, but nests may be difficult to spot. It’s best to wait until later in the summer to do your first mowing to make sure that birds have matured and can escape from mowers and tractors. 

Note: Native bird species—including their eggs or young—are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which makes it illegal to intentionally remove or destroy a nest. However, you may remove a nest with no eggs, abandoned nests, or nests of non-native and non-migratory birds, such as starlings and house sparrows. Many songbirds are done nesting in a few weeks. If you wait until chicks fly away, nests can be removed if needed.
 
Visit DEC's website to find more information about what to do when encountering young wildlife.

MAPS Banding: Bird Banding for Research and Education

The MAPS bird banding program (Monitoring Avian Production and Survivorship) helps DEC scientists and volunteers monitor bird populations by capturing them in nearly invisible nets, banding them, and observing them briefly before releasing them back into the environment. By examining feather coloration, wear, and replacement, trained scientists can determine a bird's species, gender, and in some cases whether it is breeding. This process allows us to monitor the status and trends of bird populations over time. Information from recaptured banded birds is valuable, especially when combined with data from similar banding efforts across North America.

Check out the MAPS banding video on DEC’s YouTube page.

Photo of magnolia warbler by Kate Yard.

DEC Approves Access and Public Use Plan for Tioughnioga Wildlife Management Area

The Access and Public Use Plan for Tioughnioga Wildlife Management Area (WMA) is now complete. The draft plan was open for public comment in late 2020, and DEC has included responses to these comments in the final plan. The plan's objectives include maintaining existing roads, trails, and water resources; increasing the number of informational 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.

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

Regenerate NY Cost-Share Grants Available for Forest Landowners

Do you own between 10 and 1,000 acres of forest land and have an interest in improving your woods? DEC’s Regenerate NY program provides cost-share grants to New York landowners looking to enhance forest regeneration on their property. Landowners who want to plant trees, control competing vegetation, restore a degraded forest stand, or exclude deer are encouraged to apply for project funding. To find out more about getting funding for your forest, please visit DEC’s website.

Applicants will need to apply through Grants Gateway. Private landowners are encouraged to team up with a cooperating forester who may provide application support. Check out the Regenerate NY webpage for more information.

Photo by Leslie Robertson for the National Association of State Foresters.

Love Our NY Lands

There are tens of thousands of acres of State lands to visit and thousands of miles of trails across the state for hikers of all abilities, whether you want to hike the Adirondacks or take the family and friends out for a short excursion to a scenic view in the Catskill Park.

All New Yorkers and visitors should be able to access, enjoy, and feel welcome on state lands. These lands belong to all of us, our families, and our neighbors. While enjoying these shared spaces, be respectful of other visitors. Share trails, treat people with kindness, and leave things as you found them for others to enjoy.

All of us have a responsibility to protect State lands for future generations. Follow the Hiker Responsibility Code, practice Leave No Trace principles, and consider visiting trails less traveled. Use the DECinfo Locator to find a DEC-managed resource near you.

DEC staff are here to keep you and our natural resources safe. Forest Rangers, Assistant Forest Rangers, Foresters, backcountry and front-country stewards, trail crews, and education staff are important resources for outdoor recreators and for the protection of our lands. These professionals are stationed across New York, and visitors can expect to interact with stewards at trailheads, rest areas, information stations, welcome centers, and campgrounds, as well as out on trails and summits.

Forest Rangers provide more than enforcement and rescues. One of their primary roles is education, which is crucial to ensuring hikers have a safe experience. If you run into a Forest Ranger or Assistant Forest Ranger on the trail, use that opportunity to ask questions about safety and sustainable recreation.

Trail crews work hard to build and maintain our trail systems across New York State. As you pass by crews out on the trail, take a moment to thank them for their commitment to protecting our lands and keeping users safe.

If you need help planning an adventure, or have questions about equipment, safety, or trail conditions, stewards and educators are happy to assist. If you are headed to the Catskills or High Peaks region of the Adirondacks, you’ll find stewards and educators who can provide helpful advice or assistance. You can also find formal information stations at the following locations:

Expansion Sites

• Glens Falls northbound rest area on Route 87
• Once the US/Canadian border opens, a station at a southbound rest area on 87 to capture visitors coming from Canada - TBD
• Catskills Visitor Center, Route 28, Mt Tremper (Ulster County)

High Peaks Information Stations
Stations will operate from May 21 through Oct. 11

• DEC is scheduling these information stations to begin prior to the Memorial Day holiday weekend. Times and locations to come.

Catskill Information Station

• Catskills Visitor Center, Route 28, Mt. Tremper

For more information, including how to become a steward and how you can protect New York's lands, visit DEC's website.