The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation announced, Friday, to expand its efforts to manage cormorant populations on lakes statewide, including Oneida Lake.
The DEC will work with U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services and will use a variety of methods to help reduce conflicts between double-crested cormorants and natural resources in the state.
The DEC has been involved in cormorant management for 10 years. Techniques such as egg-oiling, nest destruction, hazing, habitat modification and exclusion have been used.
This year the DEC will step up efforts on Oneida Lake and other New York lakes, including Lake Champlain, Lake Ontario, the Niagara River, and Buffalo Harbor.
The plan calls for use of lethal means to eradicate no more than 600 cormorants. Direct removal will be done primarily to either prevent the pioneering of new nest sites, or to evaluate impacts of lethal control.
"Under this plan, cormorants will not be eliminated from any areas and there will still be ample viewing opportunities for people who enjoy seeing these interesting birds," said Crotty. "
On Oneida Lake in particular, the DEC has set a goal of allowing 20 nesting couples and no more than 100 birds. On Lake Ontario, the DEC plans to allow 1,500 nesting pairs.
Cormorants, a species of waterfowl native to North America, were not known to nest in New York until 1945 when 14 nests were found on Gull Island in eastern Lake Ontario. The cormorant population in New York has grown to 10,000 nesting pairs, with an estimated summer population of more than 40,000 birds.
The recent population growth is due to a combination of factors, according to DEC Commissioner Erin M. Crotty, including water quality improvements, an abundance of forage fish, and increased protection by an amendment to the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1972.
"The DEC is committed to curbing the negative impact of large populations of cormorants," said Commissioner Crotty. "DEC staff have developed a comprehensive plan that takes into consideration the diverse viewpoints about these birds, while protecting New York's fisheries, wildlife, and habitat."
Cormorants are large, fish-eating birds that nest colonially (a high density in a small area) in areas with a high abundance of fish, often in the same habitats as other colonial-nesting bird species.
Nesting in colonies allows the birds to exploit an abundant food source and avoid predators. Cormorant populations on New York waterways have increased dramatically in the past 30 years to a point where they are now threatening other waterfowl species and negatively impacting the environment.
Mitchell Franz, who runs a charter fishing business on Lake Ontario, was among a group of nine frustrated fishermen who killed nearly 2,000 cormorants in 1998 on Little Galloo Island to dramatize their alarm at what the birds were doing to the fishery. The men were fined up to $2,500 and received home confinement of up to six months.
Franz said that the federal and state governments are finally starting to see the severity of the problem.
"If they use lethal control, I am in favor of it," Franz said. "If it's 600, that's better than what they have done before, so they are going in the right direction."
Results of the DEC's cormorant management efforts for 2004 will be evaluated to determine plans for cormorant management in the future. A coordinated management plan will be developed with Ontario, Canada, and Vermont.
"If this population continues to expand, potential conflicts with common terns and important warm water fish populations may result."
For more information about the DEC's cormorant management plans, go to:
www.dec.state.ny.us/website/dfwmr/cormorant/index.
Folks, if any of you love Champlain and ANY NY fishery as much as I do and your smallies, bombard that link with e-mails that MORE cormorants need to push up daisies! Their numbers a
The DEC will work with U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services and will use a variety of methods to help reduce conflicts between double-crested cormorants and natural resources in the state.
The DEC has been involved in cormorant management for 10 years. Techniques such as egg-oiling, nest destruction, hazing, habitat modification and exclusion have been used.
This year the DEC will step up efforts on Oneida Lake and other New York lakes, including Lake Champlain, Lake Ontario, the Niagara River, and Buffalo Harbor.
The plan calls for use of lethal means to eradicate no more than 600 cormorants. Direct removal will be done primarily to either prevent the pioneering of new nest sites, or to evaluate impacts of lethal control.
"Under this plan, cormorants will not be eliminated from any areas and there will still be ample viewing opportunities for people who enjoy seeing these interesting birds," said Crotty. "
On Oneida Lake in particular, the DEC has set a goal of allowing 20 nesting couples and no more than 100 birds. On Lake Ontario, the DEC plans to allow 1,500 nesting pairs.
Cormorants, a species of waterfowl native to North America, were not known to nest in New York until 1945 when 14 nests were found on Gull Island in eastern Lake Ontario. The cormorant population in New York has grown to 10,000 nesting pairs, with an estimated summer population of more than 40,000 birds.
The recent population growth is due to a combination of factors, according to DEC Commissioner Erin M. Crotty, including water quality improvements, an abundance of forage fish, and increased protection by an amendment to the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1972.
"The DEC is committed to curbing the negative impact of large populations of cormorants," said Commissioner Crotty. "DEC staff have developed a comprehensive plan that takes into consideration the diverse viewpoints about these birds, while protecting New York's fisheries, wildlife, and habitat."
Cormorants are large, fish-eating birds that nest colonially (a high density in a small area) in areas with a high abundance of fish, often in the same habitats as other colonial-nesting bird species.
Nesting in colonies allows the birds to exploit an abundant food source and avoid predators. Cormorant populations on New York waterways have increased dramatically in the past 30 years to a point where they are now threatening other waterfowl species and negatively impacting the environment.
Mitchell Franz, who runs a charter fishing business on Lake Ontario, was among a group of nine frustrated fishermen who killed nearly 2,000 cormorants in 1998 on Little Galloo Island to dramatize their alarm at what the birds were doing to the fishery. The men were fined up to $2,500 and received home confinement of up to six months.
Franz said that the federal and state governments are finally starting to see the severity of the problem.
"If they use lethal control, I am in favor of it," Franz said. "If it's 600, that's better than what they have done before, so they are going in the right direction."
Results of the DEC's cormorant management efforts for 2004 will be evaluated to determine plans for cormorant management in the future. A coordinated management plan will be developed with Ontario, Canada, and Vermont.
"If this population continues to expand, potential conflicts with common terns and important warm water fish populations may result."
For more information about the DEC's cormorant management plans, go to:
www.dec.state.ny.us/website/dfwmr/cormorant/index.
Folks, if any of you love Champlain and ANY NY fishery as much as I do and your smallies, bombard that link with e-mails that MORE cormorants need to push up daisies! Their numbers a
