Morning Reads: Sportsmen blast “raid” on conservation fund
State officials are using more cash generated by hunting and fishing licenses to pay salaries in the Department of Environmental Conservation, rather than using the revenue to improve game conditions.
That’s the criticism leveled in a report this month from the New York Outdoor News.
[Conservation Fund Advisory Board Member] Chairman Jason Kemper said he has no philosophical issue with at least some of the [Environmental Conservation Officer] salaries and benefits being paid for by the Conservation Fund.
But the move comes at a time when numerous staff shortages exist within DEC’s Bureau of Fish, Wildlife and Marine Resources – positions that DEC has been unable to receive permission from the state budget office to fill.
“The CFAB fully appreciates what the ECOs do for the sporting community and believe the sportsmen should be responsible for funding some of those positions,” Kemper said.
“With that being said, it is very frustrating to work for over a year trying to fill minimal vacant positions within the division of Fish, Wildlife and Marine Resources and not be able to make any progress on that, and with a stroke of the pen 20 ECOs totaling more than $500,000 for the remainder of 2010 and a projected $1.5 million for 2011 can be added to the Conservation Fund without anyone notifying the board.”
This debate comes at a time when DEC faces close scrutiny for its spending and staff levels, and environmentalists are also concerned about “raids” on the funds typically used to acquire new open space.
What do you think? Is this a fair way to shift the cash around in the middle of economic crisis, or are hunters and fishers getting zinged?
(Hat tip for noticing this story first goes to Adirondack Almanack.)
Tags: environment, outdoor recreation, politics
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It could be worse. They could be using funds generated by hunting license fees to pay other state expenses….Oh, I guess they already are….Darn!
These funds should be absolutely untouchable. let the state find and create it’s own revenue streams.
Crazy. The next thing you know they’ll be using school tax money to pay people that work with kids!
Betty, The conservation fund monies are not a part of state tax structure, and are intended for conservation fund use only. The state has built programs that look and sound like conservation fund projects, and has raided a funding source (that doesn’t belong to the state) to pay state employees.
This is theft, and it make the work of the Conservation Fund difficult to plan and carry out.
What everyone fails to recognize is that the state is already very short on conservation officers (only to increase when the new contract passes this year and many retirements follow). Without law enforcement, the environment as a whole is at risk. Conservation officers do much more than game management. Most large fines are assessed for nasty pollutants and unethical/illegal dumping by businesses. Though it may not be true for the old timers located upstate, downstate officers pay their salary several times over with the tickets they write.