2023 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.