NY Env Conserv L § 11-0501 (2021)
2021 New York Laws ENV - Environmental Conservation Article 11 - Fish and Wildlife Title 5 - Fish and Wildlife Management Practices Cooperative Program; Prohibitions; Taking of Fish, Wildlife, Shellfish and Crustacea for Scientific Or 11-0501 - Fish and Wildlife Management Practices Cooperative Program.

§ 11-0501. Fish and wildlife management practices cooperative program.   1. Purpose.   The cooperative program provided in this section is authorized for the purpose  of  obtaining on the privately owned or leased lands and waters of the state practices  of  fish  and  wildlife  management  which  will preserve  and  develop  the fish and wildlife resources of the state and improve access to them for recreational purposes by the  people  of  the state.   2. Definitions.   a.  "Fish  and wildlife management" means management of either fish or wildlife, or both.   b. "Region" means a fish and wildlife management region established as provided in subdivision 3.   c.  "Regional  board"  means  a  board  constituted  as  provided   in subdivision  4. "State board" means the board constituted as provided in subdivision 5.   d. "Cooperator" means a person with  whom  an  agreement  is  made  as provided in subdivision 9.   e.  "Regional  supervisor for natural resources" means the employee of the department bearing that title in each region.   f.  "Department",  "commissioner",  "fish"  and  "wildlife"  have  the meanings stated in section 11-0103.   3. Fish and wildlife management regions.   The  commissioner  shall  establish  not  to  exceed  fifteen fish and wildlife management regions of one or more counties  each,  which  shall include all counties of the state not wholly included within a city.   4. Regional fish and wildlife management boards.   a. A regional fish and wildlife management board shall be appointed in each  of  the  regions  established under subdivision 3 of this section. Such regional board shall consist of  three  members  from  each  county within  the  region which has appointed its members. In each county, one member shall be a member of or represent the  board  of  supervisors  or county  legislative  body,  one member shall represent the landowners of the county and one member shall represent the sportsmen of  the  county. Such  members from each county shall be appointed by the chairman of the board of supervisors of such county with the approval of  the  board  of supervisors, except that in a county having a county president, a county executive  or other chief executive officer, the chief executive officer shall appoint the members representing such county with the approval  of the  board  of supervisors of such county. In a county having an elected legislative  body  the  presiding  officer  shall  appoint  the  members representing  such  county with the approval of the legislative body. If there is no presiding officer then the members representing such  county shall  be  appointed  by the legislative body as a whole. If a member of the board of  supervisors  or  legislative  body  is  not  available  to actively  participate  on  the  fish  and  wildlife  management board, a representative shall be selected who is an elected  county  official  or who   is  employed  by  the  county  government  in  a  position  having administrative or managerial authority. A landowner representative  must actually  reside  upon  rural  lands  within  the county and actually be engaged in the operation of such lands for  production  of  agricultural commodities  or forest products. If a landowner representative with such qualifications is not available to actively participate on the fish  and wildlife  management  board,  a  representative may be appointed who has been for at least five of the past  ten  years,  before  commencing  his first term in any series of consecutive terms, engaged in such operation of  rural  lands, and who resides within the county he represents. If no landowner  representative  with  either  of  these   qualifications   is  available  to  actively  participate on the fish and wildlife management board a representative may  be  appointed  who  is  a  resource  manager engaged  in  such  operations  on  rural  lands,  and  designated by the corporate owner of those lands to represent the landowner's agricultural or  silvicultural  interests. In the case of certain counties designated by the full state board with a scarcity  of  rural  lands  operated  for production of agricultural commodities or forest products, the landowner representative  shall own such rural lands in New York state, whether or not those properties lie  within  the  county  wherein  he  resides  and represents. A sportsman representative must be a resident of the county. The  said chief executive officer, presiding officer or legislative body shall  receive  and  consider   for   appointment   as   the   landowner representative,  the  recommendations made by the county farm bureau and Pomona grange, and for appointment as  the  sportsmen's  representative, the  recommendations  made  by the county units of organized sportsmen's groups, as well as considering the advantages  of  new  representatives. The  term  of  office  of  regional  board members shall be two calendar years. A member shall be eligible for reappointment to successive  terms of  office  where  otherwise  qualified.  The  term  of  the sportsmen's representative and the board of supervisors or county  legislative  body representative  shall  expire  at the end of the odd numbered years; the term of the landowner representative shall expire at the end of the even numbered years. An alternate board of supervisors or county  legislative body    representative,   sportsmen's   representative   and   landowner representative may also be appointed, who shall be available to serve in the  event  of  the  temporary  inability  of  the  member   sportsmen's representative   or   member   landowner   representative  or  board  of supervisors or county legislative body representative to so function.  A vacancy  in  membership  of a regional board shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment for the balance of the unexpired term during which the vacancy  occurs;  if  a  supervisor  member  or  county legislative  body member shall cease to be a supervisor or member of the legislative body before the expiration of his term as a  member  of  the regional board, a successor shall be appointed for the unexpired balance of the term as a member of the regional board. The chairman of the Board of  Directors  of  each  soil  and  water  conservation district and the chairman of each regional forest practice  board  within  the  fish  and wildlife  management  region,  or his or their representatives, shall be advisory members without vote.   b. Each regional  board  shall  elect  annually  from  its  members  a chairman,  a  vice  chairman and a representative to the state board and may elect a secretary. The regional supervisor for natural resources may serve as secretary of the board if the board so  requests,  but  in  any event such supervisor's services shall always be available to the board.   5. State fish and wildlife management board.   a.  There  shall  be  a state fish and wildlife management board which shall  consist  of  three   representatives,   one   each   representing landowners,  sportsmen,  and county legislative bodies, from each of the existing regional boards, and, as advisory members of the board  without vote,  the  following  persons  during  their term of office as such, or their representatives: the Commissioner of  Environmental  Conservation, the  Commissioner  of  Agriculture  and  Markets,  the  Commissioner  of Transportation, the  Commissioner  of  Parks,  Recreation  and  Historic Preservation,  the dean of the New York State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the president of the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, the chairman of  the  State  Soil and  Water  Conservation  Committee,  the  chairman  of the State Forest Practice Board, the president of the New York Farm Bureau, the Master of  the New  York  State  Grange,  the  president  of  the  New  York  State Conservation  Council,  and the president of the New York State Division of Izaak Walton League.   b. Each member other than the advisory members shall be elected by and from  the membership of the respective regional boards for a term of one year from the day of his election, unless within such  period  he  shall cease  to  be a member of the regional board which elected him, in which event he shall cease to be a member of the state board  on  the  day  he ceases  to  be a member of such regional board. Any vacancy in the state board other than in the office of an advisory member shall be filled for the balance of the unexpired  term  so  vacated  by  election  from  its membership by the regional board in which such vacancy occurred.   c.  The  members  of  the  state board shall elect one of their voting members to serve as chairman, and another as vice chairman, to serve  in the  absence  or  inability  to serve of the chairman. An officer of the department designated by the commissioner may act as secretary  for  the board if the board so elect; otherwise a secretary shall be elected from the membership.   d. The state board shall meet at the call of the chairman or secretary when and where necessary within the state.   6. Regional and state board members; expenses.   Regional  and  state  board members, including advisory members, shall receive no salary, but their necessary traveling expenses when attending meetings of the regional or state  boards  shall  be  paid  from  moneys appropriated  to the department for travel and shall be paid on vouchers certified by the chairman of the appropriate  regional  board  or  state board upon the audit of the comptroller in the manner provided by law.   7. Duties of regional boards.   a.  Each  regional  board  shall  formulate  a  statement  of fish and wildlife management practices appropriate for its region and  submit  it for  approval  to  the  state  board  and the commissioner. After such a statement of practices has been approved by  the  state  board  and  the commissioner,  the regional board shall formally adopt such statement of practices and encourage landowners, lessees  and  sportsmen  within  the region to adopt and carry out the practices approved.   b.  A  copy  of  each  resolution so adopting a statement of practices shall be filed in the principal office of the department.   c. Any practices formulated in specific terms shall, unless  otherwise expressly   limited   by   the   words   "without  variation",  "without alternative", or the like, be interpreted as permitting such  variations or alternatives as shall be accepted by the regional board as satisfying the  purpose  of  the  practices.  But no such variation or alternatives shall be deemed to be a compliance with the practices  for  purposes  of subdivisions  9  and  10  unless  the  approval of the regional board is recorded in writing.   8. Duties of the state board.   a. The state board shall pass upon and approve or disapprove the  fish and wildlife management practices formulated by the regional boards. The state  board  may,  with  the  advice  of  the  commissioner,  and  upon recommendations from the regional boards, formulate recommended  uniform fish  and  wildlife  management  practices  for similar ecological types within the  various  ecological  regions  of  the  state.  Such  uniform practices  may  thereafter  be incorporated expressly or by reference in the statement of practices formulated by regional boards, but shall  not be operative as practices of any region unless so incorporated.   b. The state board shall also have the following duties and powers:  (1)  to  recommend to the regional boards such policies and procedures for the carrying out of fish and wildlife  management  practices  as  it deems appropriate;  (2) to keep the several regional boards informed of the activities and experience  of  all other regional boards in the state and to facilitate an interchange of advice and experience between such regional boards and cooperation between them,  and  to  provide  advice  and  assistance  in coordinating the programs of the several regional boards.   c.  The  state  board  may submit to the commissioner, recommendations with respect to matters delegated by statute to the  department  in  any case  where  a  statute  or  regulation of the department may affect the carrying out of  fish  and  wildlife  management  practices  under  this section.   9. Cooperation agreements.   a.  The  commissioner shall have power, through his representative, to enter into an agreement in writing with an  owner  or  lessee  of  rural lands or waters lying within a fish and wildlife management region or an interest  in  such  lands  or waters, or with two or more such owners or lessees who agree jointly and severally, for furnishing of services  and benefits  as  provided in subdivision 10, in exchange for and subject to the condition that such owner or lessee, or owners or lessees, adopt and carry out for  a  specified  period  of  time,  upon  such  premises  or specified parts thereof, one or more of the fish and wildlife management practices adopted by the regional board.   b.  The commissioner shall provide standard forms for such cooperation agreements.   c. The agreement shall state the period during which it  shall  be  in force  and  may provide for renewal. It may also provide for termination before the expiration of such period, and for the conditions upon  which and the manner in which any privilege of termination may be exercised.   d.  Without  limitation by paragraph c or by any term of the agreement pursuant to paragraph c the failure of a cooperator, or of  any  one  of two  or more cooperators who agree jointly and severally, to perform his agreement  shall  relieve  the  commissioner  and  the  state  from  the obligation  to  furnish  the  services  and  benefits  provided  for  in subdivision 10.   10. State assistance.   a. Upon the establishment of such region, the  commissioner  may,  and upon  organization of the regional board, the commissioner shall provide personnel from the department to assist the boards and  the  cooperators within the region.   b. The commissioner shall furnish to cooperators:  (1) technical services;  (2)  trees  and  shrubs  from  any  of  the  nurseries operated by the department without charge at the nursery, to the extent and  subject  to the conditions specified in the agreement with the cooperator;  (3)   a   subscription,   without   cost,   to   the  New  York  State Conservationist magazine.   c. The commissioner may  also  furnish  to  cooperators  such  further technical  assistance,  labor  and  materials,  as  may  be  required in compliance with practices approved by the region and authorized by order of the commissioner.   d. The commissioner  may  also  furnish  to  premises  covered  by  an agreement and to fish and wildlife upon such premises such protection by way  of posting, patrol by environmental conservation officers or forest rangers,  inspection  or  checking  stations,  fire  patrols  or   other appropriate  means,  within  the limitation of appropriations and of the manpower available as may be advisable in his judgment to  protect  fish  and  wildlife  resources,  provide  for  public safety and encourage the opening of private lands and waters to public hunting and  fishing;  but neither  this subdivision nor any provision of any agreement pursuant to this  section  shall be deemed to constitute an undertaking by the state or the department on its behalf  to  furnish  such  posting,  patrol  or protection  and neither such agreement nor any provision of the Fish and Wildlife Law shall be deemed to create a  ground  of  liability  of  the state  for damage to person or property caused by the failure or neglect of the state or its  agents,  officers  or  employees  to  furnish  such posting, patrol or protection.   e.  The  agreement  with the cooperator may provide for use by him for purposes compatible with its function in  wildlife  management,  of  any structure  or  facility created or maintained on his premises with funds of the department, or for furnishing to him the incidental  products  of any  activity  conducted  on  his  premises  for  purposes  of  wildlife management.