Welcome!

Hey everyone, 

Summer is flying by!  Hope all are well after this last round of storms which flooded the eastern part of the state and our New England neighbors. The NY Chapter Rendezvous at The Hungry Trout is fast approaching and we are super excited. The links below go to the information page where you can buy tickets, as a newsletter subscriber you will have the first opportunity to buy them! It will be a great time for sure. 

Get out there and enjoy your public lands and water and see you at NY Rendezvous!

Brian Bird

NYBHA Chapter Chair 

NY Rendezvous - Sep 8-10, 2023!

We are planning a NY Rendezvous for all NY BHA members happening at The Hungry Trout Resort in September.   This is going to be a blast with good people, great food, lots of opportunities to learn new skills (cooking, fly casting, butchering, and much much more) and a habitat improvement project on the last day.  We will have several sponsors present and lots of auction and raffle items from guided trips to awesome outdoor gear!   On Friday night, there will be a Conservation Dinner with some good food, great speakers and exciting auction/raffle items.  Be sure to block the dates on your calendar and RSVP at the links below! 

RSVP for NY Rendezvous here: New York Chapter Rendezvous in the Adirondacks

RSVP for the Conservation Dinner here: NY Rendezvous Conservation Dinner

Legislative / Policy Update

While the legislative session has wrapped in Albany, it is still worth keeping an eye on the following bills and letting your elected officials hear from you.  

Lead ammo ban on all public lands - Both the Assembly and the Senate have bills proposing banning all lead ammunition only on public lands.  The bill passed in the Assembly and the relevant bill in the Senate is S4976.   While we are very much in favor of hunters voluntarily switching to non-toxic ammunition, we feel that these bills are likely to be ineffective and unfairly target only public land hunters.   Reach out to your elected officials!

New York wildlife crossing act - A bill that directs the Department of Transportation to identify sites along all highways, thruways and parkways in the state where wildlife crossings are most needed to increase public safety and improve habitat connectivity and create a priority list of wildlife opportunity areas where federal grant monies may be available to implement the top five projects identified.  We are in favor of this proposed bill and encourage you to reach out to your elected officials to get this one over the finish line.   The relevant bills are S4198 and A4243.

Back tags, hunting rights, crossbows and dogs - A few other bills to keep your eye on:

• Remove the requirements for back tags - S367 / A1486
• Hunting dogs cannot be deemed running at large - A2224
• Remove restrictions on crossbow size/weight - S2250 / A4372
• Constitutional right to hunt and fish - S870 / A3348
• Prohibits leasing public land for gas production - S724
• Ban leg gripping traps - A110 / S1619

Unit/Recreation Management Plans - DEC regularly seeks public input as they work to manage our public lands.   While they will regularly receive input from other groups, often hunters and anglers are fairly silent.   It directly benefits the hunting and angling communities for you to take a look at these plans and voice your feedback directly to DEC.   They do listen to your input and in the past, our voices have resulted in wins for hunters and anglers.  Current plans open for feedback include:

Region 3

• Shawangunk Ridge Unit Management Plan -  public meeting to be held on July 17 at 6pm at Mamakating Town Hall in Wurtsboro  - comments due August by 20

Region 6

• Conifer-Emporium Recreation Management Plan - comments due by July 14

Region 7

• Chenango Trail Unit Management Plan

Region 8

• Keuka Highlands UMP and Keuka Lowlands UMP - comments open until further notice
• Great Divide Unit Management Plan (formerly Erwin UMP and Great Divide UMP) - comments open until further notice

Chapter News from June

Hike to Hunt

NY BHA hosted an event at the Ellicottville Brewing Company in Little Valley where more than 30 attendees participated in a group hike, a fitness challenge and archery.   They followed up with great conversations and cold beer!

Intro Archery Day

The NY chapters of BHA, Hunters of Color, Nature Conservancy and NYSDEC all worked together to host an introduction to archery on TNC property in Westchester County.   More than 70 new future archers and conservationists showed up to sample wild game, learn and practice archery, learn about tree stands, ground blinds, and learn valuable hunting, navigation, and scouting skills to prepare them for eventually deer hunting.

Striped Bass Regulations Update

NYS DEC adopted the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC_ emergency striped bass management measures.  The new regulations narrow the slot limit to 28 to 31 inches for anglers fishing in marine waters and in the Delaware River; the 18- to 28-inch slot in the Hudson River remains unchanged.

Call for Volunteers

We need your help!  We are looking for volunteers to help with the following efforts.

• Regional Event Coordinators - Want to help us plan gatherings for your fellow NY BHA members?   We need help with local Pint Nights as well as our upcoming NY Rendezvous
• Policy and Legislative work - Our Policy team and newly forming Legislative team needs passionate folks to jump in and help us do the important work to protect our public lands and access for hunters and anglers!
• Mentorship work - We want to build a list of folks in the state who are open to being mentors for new hunters and anglers.  We have opportunities and need for folks who can give a little all the way up to folks who want to really invest a lot.  Everything from answering questions to being a one on one coach to participating on our larger weekend long hunt camps for new hunters.
• Conservation work - We are working with DEC to have more opportunities for events to do quality habitat work on our public lands.  Want to roll your sleeves up and help, we would love to have you!

If you are interested in volunteering a bit of your time and talents, please let us know by filling out and submitting this form.

How to Connect with Us

Here are a few ways you can keep in touch with the New York BHA chapter:

Stay up to date with events and blogs from New York on our BHA web page at New York Backcountry Hunters & Anglers.  

Join our Facebook group at New York BHA on Facebook. 

Follow us on Instagram New York BHA (@newyorkbha).

Contact the Chapter Board by email: [email protected]

Thank our sponsors: New York BHA Corporate Sponsors

Join us at an upcoming event: BHA Events

Signup to be a volunteer: NY BHA Volunteer

Last but not least, make sure your BHA membership is current and give the gift of BHA to a friend or family member!