New York ~ Status of the Mourning Dove Initiative

So sportsmen sticking together in NY is not an option. Bet if theses birds had horns & antler they'd be on a fast track to legislation for a special season.
 BPB

Subject:	Status of the Mourning Dove Initiative
Date:	Thu, 13 Oct 2011 19:14:02 -0400
From:	Fred Z. Neff
To:	A lot of NY sportsmen

I've had several inquiries as to whether I am still pursuing a dove reclassification initiative for New York. The answer is, "YOU BET! And each day, we are getting closer to "coming out". But it sure would help if some of you would join in. The following will explain just what I mean.

 

It's been a long haul so far. But the battle hasn't even begun yet. The totals to date, which are concentrated on obtaining letters of support from sportsmen organizations, are progressing at the pace of a turtle. Positive progress is a fact. But to be frank, I'm still not satisfied. If and when I take this issue public and ask you to approach our legislators in search of sponsors for a bill calling for the reclassification of the mourning dove, it will be crucial that NY's sportsmen demonstrate that we are united on this since political careers are going to be risked. For that reason, I can assure you that if I'm not satisfied that we are truly united, I will not go forward. I've made that clear more than once. Worse, any Federation or other organization that ignores this initiative or opposes it is indicating that they are on the side of the anti-hunting crowd (e.g. - the "Save the Dove" folks) and they will love you for it. They might even make you honorary members. Is that what we want? We have a chance to bring a new outdoor opportunity to our bird hunting fraternity. God knows, we need it. Evidently, 40 other states agree.

Here is the latest update as of 10/13/11:

A. NYSCC Federation Members

There are 62 counties in New York. 49 of them have Federations that are members of NYSCC. 13 counties are not members of NYSCC. 27 of the 49 member Federations in the NYSCC have responded so far. All 27 support the initiative. 22 Federations have not responded to date. Therefore, I have no idea if the 22 are for, against, or don't care about the issue.

The 22 Federations that have not responded are:

Cattaraugus

Chautauqua

Clinton

Delaware

Essex

Franklin

Jefferson

Lewis

Nassau

Oneida

Orange

Otsego

Rensselaer

Rockland

Saratoga

Seneca

Steuben

Sullivan

Ulster

Westchester

Wyoming

Yates

Several specific Federations listed above are significant surprises to me due to their lack of response. I truly expected support from them. In this world of personality and issue clashes, I wonder if some are cutting off their noses to spite their faces. In addition, several representatives of these Federations have promised me letters of support, but I haven't received them to date. (A particularly depressing encounter at the NYSCC Fall Conference occurred when a well-known figure who is also the president of one of the listed Federations informed me that he didn't think that his Federation would support the initiative; the only negative response that I've received thus far). I have to state that I am amazed at this status, especially since I have personally contacted every Federation delegate that has a valid email. I intend to contact each Federation, yet again, directly through their presidents if possible.

B. NYSCC Associate Members

There are15 Associate members of the NYSCC. 6 have responded so far, all supportive. 9 have not responded ( see bold, underlined above).

The 9 Associate members who have not responded are:

Deer Search, Inc.

Mad River Club

NY Conservation Officers Association

NY Deer and Elk Farmers Association

NY Field Archers and Bowhunters Association

NY Houndsmen Conservation Association

NYS Chapter, National Wild Turkey Federation

NYS Whitetail Management Coalition

SCOPE, Inc.

C. NYSCC Affiliate Members

There are 11 Affiliate members of the NYSCC, 1 has responded in support; 10 have not responded (see bold, underlined above).

The one supporting response was from the NYS Outdoor Writers Association. FYI, here are the other 10 who haven't responded: Canandaigua Lake Duck Hunters, Elma Conservation Club, Finger Lakes Conservation Council, Leatherstocking Club, Mid-Hudson Fur Harvesters, Niagara Frontier Chapter NWTF, Seneca Lake Duck Hunters, Sullivan County Longbeards NTWF, Tribes Hill Fish and Game Club, and the Tri-Village Road and Gun Club. Some are already included in member Federations and so I'm not going to make them a priority at this point.

I have also received letters of support from 5 unaffiliated organizations:

Chenango County Federation

Oatka Fish and Game Club

Genesee Conservation Foundation, Inc.

Conservation Alliance of New York (CANY)

NY Division, Izaak Walton League

Summary:

Of the 49 member Federations of NYSCC, 27 support the initiative. That's 55%.

Of the 75 total members of NYSCC, 34 support the initiative. That's 45%.

If I include the 80 total listed here, 39 are supportive. That's 49%.

If you are reading this email and note that your Federation is one of those who have not heeded requests for support, I urge you to correct the matter ASAP since I really want to move forward. There are more than a few individuals that have volunteered to work on this initiative and some of them have suggested excellent elements with regard to a game plan once the support matter is resolved.

Meanwhile, I urge each of you to use every opportunity to keep this initiative alive in the minds of your legislators.

Finally, I have a spreadsheet that contains the details that I asked for - support or oppose, number of member clubs in your organization and the estimated number of sportsmen that you feel that you represent. This spreadsheet will be part of the "package" that I intend to distribute to supporting legislators.

Any questions, don't hesitate to contact me. More importantly, if you recognize those listed above, please ask them to respond.

Thanks.

Fred Z. Neff