ALBANY (AP) -- Anglers fear state budget cuts will reduce the number of trout and salmon stocked in New York state's waterways next spring despite hefty license fee increases last fall.
Jason Kemper, chairman of the state's Conservation Fund Advisory Board, said the recommended staffing level in the state's fish hatchery system is 80, but early retirement incentives and unfilled vacancies have brought staffing down to 67. He told an Assembly hearing earlier this month that staffing is insufficient to maintain production at current levels.
The price of a fishing license was raised from $19 to $29 last year to bolster the Conservation Fund, which pays for fish and wildlife programs. Kemper said the 1.4 million license buyers in the state were promised that the higher fees would stave off reductions in the level of service in Conservation Fund programs.
The fund has a surplus of about $17 million, yet staffing levels are lower and allocations for gasoline and other expenses are too low to allow remaining staff to do their jobs effectively, Kemper said.
For the first time since 1976, no eggs were taken from the Adirondack strain of lake trout in Raquette Lake, which means there will be 115,000 fewer lake trout for stocking in 37 waterways, Kemper said. Staffing shortages and budget cutbacks have reduced the egg take for landlocked salmon at the Adirondack hatchery by 50 percent, which will mean 700,000 fewer salmon stocked to New York waters, he said.
Howard Cushing, president of the New York State Conservation Council, which represents more than 300,000 hunters and anglers, wrote on the council's website that the group would file a lawsuit if necessary to prevent Conservation Fund money from being reallocated to help close a state budget gap estimated at $315 million by Gov. David Paterson and $1 billion by Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.
"I have a very deep concern that the Department of Budget or the governor will be looking at the Conservation Fund as a cash cow," Cushing wrote.
"We're looking to keep staffing at a level that was low to begin with in programs paid out of the Conservation Fund," Cushing said in a telephone interview. "These are programs that are supported not only by license dollars, but also excise taxes on fishing equipment, firearms, ammunition and hunting gear."
Eric Kriss, spokesman for Paterson's Budget Division, said every part of state government has to cut back as the state endures "the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression."
While sportsmen's groups contend that the Conservation Fund is a "locked box" required by law to be used only for fish and wildlife programs, Kriss said that's not the case.
"We would not have to change environmental conservation law to use Conservation Fund money for purposes other than what they're used for now," Kriss said. However, he said it's too early to say whether fish stocking or other specific programs will be reduced.
The Department of Environmental Conservation stands to lose 140 jobs as part of Paterson's plan to lay off about 900 state workers by year's end. Previous cutbacks had reduced the department's work force by about 860 since 2008.
Paterson has called a special session of the Legislature on Monday to address budget issues and other matters.
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