A two-deer poaching investigation led to a weapons arrest and 10 hunting-related tickets in Delaware County, among the cases detailed in a statewide conservation police report released Monday.
The New York Department of Environmental Conservation’s roundup also described deer hunting violations in Franklin and Suffolk counties, fishing and pheasant-limit cases, commercial waste enforcement and youth hunts supported by officers in western New York.
In Masonville, officers investigating a complaint Sept. 30 traced evidence from a roadway to posted property where a doe had been shot the previous evening, DEC said.
The department said a man admitted shooting the doe with a rifle, and investigators learned that a prior felony conviction prohibited him from possessing a firearm.
State Police arrested him on a misdemeanor charge of fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, while conservation officers confiscated the deer and investigated a second deer shot Sept. 29 in the same area, DEC said.
The man initially denied shooting the second deer, but an officer returned to both locations Oct. 1 with a metal detector and recovered bullets, including one lodged in the second deer, which had been left in a field.
DEC said the bullets’ caliber and characteristics matched the man’s rifle, tire-tread and wheelbase measurements matched his vehicle, and security video showed a truck matching its make and model at the second location.
The man subsequently admitted shooting the second deer, according to DEC, and received 10 tickets covering offenses including illegal deer taking, trespass, hunting with a motor vehicle, firing from a public highway, using a spotlight, possessing an unsecured firearm and killing deer out of season, returnable to Masonville Town Court.
Near Malone in Franklin County, an officer heard rifle shots Oct. 24, the Northern Zone firearms season’s opening day, and found two untagged antlerless deer hanging in a garage.
Investigators interviewed a hunter at a camp the next day and determined the deer had been killed Oct. 21 and 23 over bait consisting of apples, corn and salt, DEC said.
The department said the hunter was a nonresident who had purchased a resident license and had violated 10 provisions of state Environmental Conservation Law.
The hunter was arraigned in Belmont Town Court and agreed to a compromise of civil penalties totaling $1,405; the venison was donated, according to DEC.
The department reminded hunters that hunting deer over bait, feeding deer and placing salt near areas inhabited by deer are prohibited in New York.
At East Islip Marina in Suffolk County on Oct. 7, a man initially told officers he had found an injured deer with an arrow beside it and took the animal after it died to avoid wasting it, DEC said.
Investigators found a bow with an empty quiver in his vehicle and arrows matching the one beside the deer, and the man later admitted shooting the buck from the roadway, according to the department.
Officers seized the bow, arrows and buck and issued tickets for illegal deer taking, trespassing in a restricted area, taking a deer from a public roadway and failing to immediately tag a deer, returnable to Suffolk First District Court.
In Washington County, an officer checking pheasant hunters at Eldridge Swamp State Forest and Carters Pond Wildlife Management Area on Oct. 15 received a report about two hunters firing repeatedly while running three dogs.
The officer located their vehicle at Carters Pond, where each hunter presented two pheasants before an inspection uncovered four additional birds concealed on their persons and in the vehicle, DEC said.
The experienced hunters acknowledged knowing the two-bird daily limit but said they “just got carried away,” according to DEC; both were ticketed for exceeding the limit, with the four extra birds seized and tickets returnable to Greenwich Town Court.
In Croton-on-Hudson on Oct. 17, officers checking people using a cast net found one person with approximately 800 Atlantic menhaden, also known as bunker, about 700 above the 100-fish limit, DEC said.
Officers also found two striped bass measuring 3 to 4 inches, below the state’s 28- to 31-inch slot size cited in the report, and issued tickets for fish outside the slot, exceeding the daily limit, taking fish by means other than angling and fishing without a license, returnable to village court.
In Easton, Washington County, a property owner reported Oct. 23 having a photograph of someone carrying a crossbow while trespassing, and the suspected trespasser later arranged to meet an officer for a ticket but failed to appear or return calls, DEC said.
On Oct. 28, the owner reported hearing what sounded like a tree stand being dragged through the woods while the owner was hunting, and conservation officers and State Police found the suspect across the street.
The person was arrested on charges of petit larceny, trespass and hunter harassment, released on appearance tickets to Easton Town Court, and the stand was returned to its owner, according to DEC.
Commercial vehicle inspections in Orange, Rockland and Westchester counties produced additional environmental tickets during October.
On Oct. 19 in Tuxedo, officers inspecting trucks dumping fill at a construction site found construction and demolition debris, including brick, asphalt and plastic, mixed into the material and site, DEC said.
Drivers received tickets for offenses including failing to carry waste shipment tracking documents and transporting waste without required registration, returnable to Tuxedo Town Court.
In Tarrytown on Oct. 21, officers stopped a waste oil removal vacuum truck with an expired diesel emissions inspection and found that its state Part 364 waste transporter registration had also expired, resulting in multiple tickets to the company returnable to village court.
In Ramapo on Oct. 24, officers checking a truck that had idled in a parking lot for nearly 10 minutes found fluid leaking from a front wheel hub, DEC said.
The driver received tickets for diesel idling longer than five minutes and depositing an unwholesome substance on a highway, returnable to Ramapo Town Court.
A Yonkers enforcement detail Oct. 31 produced 13 tickets, one written warning and several verbal warnings for unregistered waste transport, uncovered solid waste loads and vehicle and traffic violations, with tickets returnable to Yonkers City Court.
DEC said officers routinely patrol environmental justice communities such as Yonkers to support fair treatment in environmental enforcement regardless of race, income, national origin or color.
The report also highlighted youth waterfowl and pheasant hunts involving officers from DEC Regions 8 and 9.
Eleven young people attended a Sept. 19 waterfowl identification course at Hartland Conservation Club in Niagara County, sponsored by the New York Conservation Officer’s Association, covering species identification, hunting habits, regulations and safety.
Eight participants hunted at Tonawanda Wildlife Management Area the following weekend with officers’ assistance, using the identification skills they had learned and taking numerous waterfowl, with one hunter reaching the daily limit.
The association donated hats, gloves, face masks and prizes for the participants.
At the 17th annual Youth Pheasant Hunt with Pheasants on the Flats in Batavia on Oct. 3, every participant took at least one pheasant despite a cool, damp morning, and several succeeded on their first hunt.
Knead the Dough in Ransomville, Verratti Farms LLC and the conservation officers’ association supported breakfast and lunch, while the association also supplied hunting equipment and safety hats.
In Suffolk County, officers hosted an informational display and answered families’ questions about conservation work at the Brentwood Fire Department’s Fire Prevention Open House on Oct. 10.
Officers also attended Suffolk County Community College’s Criminal Justice Career Fair in Selden on Oct. 20, explaining environmental law enforcement duties and recruitment requirements, including being at least 21 by appointment with no maximum age to apply.
Through Oct. 1, DEC’s Division of Law Enforcement had fielded an estimated 77,697 calls, responded to more than 27,604 complaints and worked cases resulting in 10,470 tickets or arrests, according to the department.
Commissioner Amanda Lefton said conservation officers’ work protects public safety and the state’s air, water, wildlife and outdoor spaces.
Environmental crimes or incidents can be reported to the department’s 24-hour dispatch line at 1-844-DEC-ECOS.
FingerLakes1.com is the region’s leading all-digital news publication. The company was founded in 1998 and has been keeping residents informed for more than two decades. Have a lead? Send it to news@fingerlakes1.com.