9/23/01

Waterfowl zone plan controversial

By DENNIS APRILL,  Outdoors Columnist

Last fall, I ran a piece about a problem with Waterfowl Zone boundaries in the Northern Tier.

Peter LaFountaine of Rouses Point pointed out that, according to the Waterfowl Regulations Guide put out by the Department of Environmental Conservation, "The Lake Champlain Zone (is)—that area east and north of a continuous line extending along Route 9B from New York-Canada boundary to Route 9, south along Route 9 to Route 22 south of Keeseville." The problem is that Route 9B ends in Rouses Point where it melds with Route 11.

Therefore, that strip north to Canada was a no-man’s land, in neither the Northeast New York nor Lake Champlain Zones.

Over the winter DEC surveyed waterfowlers who hunted in the area and were registered with the mandatory Harvest Information Program (HIP). There were three options to correct the confusion and proposals to expand the Lake Champlain Zone. They were as follows:

• Option 1 -No change (just reword to make Route 11 the northern boundary to the Canada line).

• Option 2 -From the NY-Canada boundary, follow I-87 south to Interchange 33, then follow Route 22 south.

• Option 3 -From NY-Canada boundary, follow Route 22 south to Keeseville.

About 750 questionnaires were sent out by DEC, 151 (20 percent)returned. Of these, 41. 1 percent wanted no change (Option 1), 23. 2 percent Option 2 and 30. 5 percent Option 3. The remainder had no opinion.

In a letter sent out by DEC Region 5 Wildlife Manager Bob Inslerman, he writes, "Although the margin between Option 1 and Option 3 is small, we felt making a change with such a close response would create more confusion overall than just leaving them alone." "Nonsense," says LaFountaine, "53 percent wanted change. Only 41 percent wanted to keep it the same. I would say that’s a clear majority. And, there can’t be any more changes made, according to DEC, until 2005. They’re the same birds. They should be in the same zone." If nothing else, the zone boundaries north of Rouses Point have been clarified in the new Guide. There can be no question where the current Lake Champlain Zone ends.