Public invited to comment through Jan. 14 on list of ‘Species of Greatest Conservation Need’
By Mike Lynch
Environmental groups want the state to include apex predators in its list of at-risk species for the updated State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP), which provides guidelines for managing threatened and endangered wildlife.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation put its draft list of “Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN)” and accompanying species status assessments out for public on Nov.15 with a comment deadline of Jan. 14.
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But the list doesn’t include Canada lynx, cougars and wolves.
Protect the Adirondacks Conservation Director and Counsel Christopher Amato said the omission is puzzling because the animals have shown the potential for returning to New York, and they should be part of the wildlife planning process.
“I think that the SWAP is and should be a plan that looks at the potential for re-establishment of breeding populations of species that for one reason or the other don’t have a breeding population in the state anymore,” he said.
State officials in Vermont confirmed a lynx sighting in the western part of the state near New York this past fall, and there have been numerous wolf sightings in New York over the last few decades. The most recent wolf sighting came in December 2021 when a deer hunter accidentally shot and killed a gray wolf south of the Adirondack Park in Cherry Valley. That animal was confirmed to be a wolf by genetic testing.
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The last known cougar sighting in the Adirondacks took place in 2010 when an animal travelled 2,000 miles from South Dakota to the East Coast before being hit by a vehicle in Connecticut in 2011.
Time to add them back?
All three animals are considered “extirpated,” or not existing in the wild, in New York by the DEC because of their lack of a breeding population. They do receive state and federal protections as threatened or endangered animals, depending upon their status.
“I hate using the word extirpated, which the DEC uses because it carries with it the notion that they’re forever gone from the state, and we just don’t believe that that’s the case,” Amato said. “It certainly isn’t the case with wolves, and we think that certainly with cougars and Canada lynx, there is a very high potential for a natural re-establishment in the state, and we think that that should be part of the wildlife planning process.”
Justin Levine, senior communications specialist for the Adirondack Council, also questioned why apex predators were left off the list.
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“Having those apex predators in New York and in the Adirondacks is really vital to healthy wildlife populations from the top of the food chain down to the bottom,” he said. “It’s especially important now that we know for an absolute fact, due to DNA testing, that wolves are present in New York.”
What the plan does
The State Wildlife Action Plan will be used by the DEC from 2025 to 2035. According to the DEC, its species of greatest conservation need list contains animals that are native and living in New York and are currently experiencing threats likely to result in further decline of their populations in the state if conservation actions are not implemented within the next 10 years.
Updating the SWAP every 10 years is a requirement for states to be eligible for funding through the State and Tribal Wildlife Grants Program, which provides money for research projects and management of wildlife and their habitats.
DEC uses input from partners and stakeholders on Species of Greatest Conservation Need and strategies and actions to address threats to these species.
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How to get involved
The draft Species of Greatest Conservation Need list and revised species status assessments are available on the DEC’s website. The public can nominate a new SGCN, or propose a species be removed from the list.
Anyone interested in providing data, updates, or other comments pertaining to the nomination of a new SGCN can download a blank form from the DEC’s website and send it to [email protected] by Jan. 14.
DEC will hold a public review and comments period for the full updated SWAP prior to its submission to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Input and data may be submitted by email to [email protected]. Please include “Draft SGCN List” in the subject line. Information may also be sent by mail to:SWAP Coordinator, Division of Fish and Wildlife, NYSDEC, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233-4754Questions about the SGCN list or status assessment revision process can be sent to the SWAP Coordinator at [email protected] or call 518-402-8858. For more information on New York’s State Wildlife Action Plan, visit the DEC website.
“DEC uses input from partners and stakeholders on Species of Greatest Conservation Need and strategies and actions to address threats to these species. ”
Would like to see that list published.
How does someone shoot something that isn’t considered on the list of animals to shoot. I wish States would recognize the possibility of their presence and just say it’s hands off. Otherwise hunters make excuses.
Before we rush to re-introduce three large predators to the Adirondacks, we need a detailed study to determine if an adequate prey base exists to support them. Natural migration back into the Adirondacks would fail or succeed based on this. Like it or not, the natural systems we have today in the Adirondacks are not what they were several hundred years ago. In the case of the wolf, we now have wolf/coyote hybrids dominating that niche. Just as red wolf re-introduction is doomed to failure in the Southeast due to coyote hybridization the same would likely continue to occur here.
Who is rushing to re-introduce them? We are just asking that they not be shot on sight if they wander into NYS. If they can survive here, we should welcome them back, not persecute them. They were part of the ecosystem before we eradicated them.
Please protect all animals from humans. I can’t see bringing back wolves , panthers and lynx, bobcats because of what deer hunters are doing to the coyotes on a daily basis in upstate NY.
I’m a deer hunter. What are deer hunters doing to the coyotes on a daily basis in upstate NY?
Should appex predators like cougars ,lynx and wolves be reintroduced to the Adirondacks. well thats an interesting subject .I think before this possiblely ever happens there should be one heck of a serious study done or this could cause a traumatic probnlem to the Adirondack park eco system.
They forgot to mention one other apex predator that was once present in N.Y.. My favorite “The wolverine. “I remember when the lynx was reintroduced to the adirondacks I beleive in the 80’s without success. Some were hit by cars. They did not thrive. I beleive to reintroduce apex predators to an area they have not lived in for a long time is not only taxing and stressful on these animals, but the man power needed to do a successful reintroduction would be to much. Apex predators are not necessary for an ecosystem survival in N.Y..
Do you have the prey species to support these predators in the Adirondacks? From what I have seen in the Forever Wilderness Forest, you need a major wind event or some type of major forest disturbance to create the type of vegetation to have have more prey species like snowshoe hare or whitetail deer for these predators to multiple and sustain their populations.