Posted By VanOtisco, 3 years ago
With all the noise these days about controversial regulations and oppressive gun laws, it's easy to overlook a serious challenge facing all sportsmen of NYS: recruitment. Many suburban and city kids these days are not exposed to hunting, fishing, and other outdoor activities the way many of us were. But I just learned about a well-traveled bill that seeks to address this challenge.
Sponsored by New York State Senator Thomas O'Mara, Senate Bill 1625 would allow high school students interested in outdoor education to request that their school, as part of the existing physical education curriculum, offer instruction in hunting, fishing and outdoor education.
Under the bill, the state Education Department will work in
consultation with the state Department of Environmental Conservation to
develop the curriculum, envisioned to be consistent with many of the
education and safety courses the DEC currently requires for license
applicants. Components of the curriculum will include:
instruction on the state’s various hunting and fishing seasons
wildlife conservation
the how-to of obtaining licenses
safety and conservation rules and regulations
regional and statewide opportunities
the history, as well as the cultural and economic benefits, of outdoor recreation in New York State.
"It's
a great opportunity to introduce students to our time-honored pastimes
and traditions and, on a personal note, we’re extremely fortunate to
offer great hunting, fishing and other outdoor recreation opportunities
throughout the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes regions I represent,
including a network of parks and trails that's second to none," said
Senator Tom O'Mara (R,C,I-Big Flats), who chairs the Senate
Environmental Conservation Committee and is an avid fisherman. "These
activities offer opportunities that can help bring families together,
strengthen the foundation of our tourism-based economies, and enhance
appreciation for the outdoors and environmental conservation."
The
Senator's office has informed NYOutdoorTalk.com that this legislation
has been introduced and approved by the Senate in various forms over the
years, but it has never been acted on by the Assembly Democratic
leadership. "We still encounter resistance, mostly from New York
City-based legislators, who simply don't understand how hunting, fishing
and outdoor recreation is so firmly woven into the fabric of and
benefits the upstate, rural culture and economy."
That
contribution to New York's economy is staggering. Hunting and sport
fishing combines for nearly $4 billion of economic activity and supports
approximately 47,000 jobs statewide.
Senator O'Mara may be reached via his State Senate page or his Facebook page.