Fishing

Staff report Albany — Gov. George Pataki hasn’t signed a long-awaited bill that would allow rifles for deer and bear hunting in several Southern Zone counties because he hasn’t yet received the legislation. A spokesman

By Steve Piatt Editor Albany — New York’s 2005 bear harvest will almost assuredly be impacted by changes in hunting seasons, notably in the Catskills, which will see a longer season by three days. A

By Steve Piatt Editor Albany — DEC forest rangers would have police powers under legislation approved by the state House and Senate and set to be signed by Gov. George Pataki. The bill was crafted

By Steve Piatt Editor Dunkirk, N.Y. – Lake Erie’s trophy bass season, which would have been eliminated under a DEC bass regulations overhaul, will be maintained with some size-limit modifications. Doug Stang, DEC’s Bureau of

By Steve Piatt Editor Albany – DEC officials say they’re not surprised with the overwhelming opposition to a proposal to lease 21,000 acres of state land for gas and oil exploration in several Southern Tier

By Don Lehman Contributing Writer Albany — Big-game hunters in some Southern Tier counties will likely get to take rifles afield this fall under a bill passed last month by both houses of the state

By Mike Raykovicz Contributing Writer Elmira, N.Y. — The DEC’s plan to open state forest land for gas drilling exploration is meeting stiff opposition from residents, hunters, and conservationists in several Southern Tier counties. DEC

By Steve Piatt Editor Albany — New York State hunters may have bagged just a few more gobblers this spring than in 2004, according to preliminary data received by the DEC. But DEC Game Bird