Some advice for keeping wildlife habitats

Posted 20 June 2019 at 10:06 am

Editor:

On May 21, I attended and spoke before the Orleans County Federation of Sportsmen. I forwarded my speech to the editor of the Orleans Hub about my concerns with the loss of woodlots, hedgerows and wildlife habitat.

The complete speech wasn’t included in the Letters to the Editor, including 16 fixes to the situation.

The last part of my speech said: What are all of us, that includes government agencies, farmers, sportsmen and women, rural landowners and local representatives going to do?

I suggest we meet with representatives from all government agencies and encourage them all collectively to work together to make Orleans County great again for all of us.

Tools to use:

1. Study laws regarding pesticide application.

2. Report to law enforcement of overspray incidents. Collect evidence such as witnesses, videos, photos, etc. Also check hedgerow removal or wooded lots and see if they are being legally removed.

3. Contact local representatives. Let them know how you feel and how you will vote in your upcoming elections if your concerns are not addressed.

4. Attend Orleans County Legislature meetings and share information.

5. Run for office (If you want change, put the rubber to the road).

6. Support only candidates who will help us save our homes and who will openly speak about it.

7. Copy and distribute “Trees against the Wind”

8. If you are a rural home/landowner you should not remove habitat that is vital to survival. This includes hedgerows, wooded lots and/or hardwoods which provide food and shelter for so many species who also live here.

9. Provide food plots and shelter for birds, deer, turkeys, etc. Be sure they are not Hybrid or GMO products, and protect it from over-farming and over-spray.

10. Enlist the help of others. Educate them and yourselves to be good stewards of the place we all call home.

11. Distribute information to landowners who rent their land. Make sure renters tell you what they spray on rented land and investigate before you let them spray, plant or remove habitat.

12. Before you plant, study the seed inoculants and how they affect habitat. Don’t rely of manufacturers labels or rhetoric from people planting.

13. When you shop purchase at least 1 or 2 USDA organic products. If more of us do this prices will decrease and you support an industry that is aware of the crisis we are facing nationwide.

14. Don’t listen to agribusiness, seed or pesticide sales rhetoric. Do your homework. You can visit the media and read the article from National Geographic titled “The Second Silent Spring” and ask your farm friends if they know.

15. Collectively purchase or long-term lease hunting properties to ensure we all have places to hunt, hike, or ride ATV’s without worries of encroachment of agribusinesses or urban sprawl.

16. Lobby our representatives to add money to the budget to bring moneys to Orleans/Genesee/Niagara counties for conservation reserve. Also lobby our legislators to adopt in our counties, New York State Department of Health Neighborhood Notification Laws, to add additional safety restraints to pesticide applicators.

John Metzler

Barre