Ithaca 37
New member
What are you going to do about it? I already contacted my Legislators and asked them to vote against it. Will you contact yours? Please reply.
"This morning, the House Appropriations Committee voted to transfer $1,000,000 from the Fish and Game Secondary Depredation Account to the State General Fund. The committee also voted to transfer funds from several other state agencies to the General Fund. The transfers are part of a bill that will be introduced tomorrow. (As of today, no bill number has been assigned.)
The transfer from the Depredation Account threatens the future of the Access Yes program, which will pay landowners for providing hunting and fishing access. Fish and Game planned to start the Access Yes program with interest generated from the Secondary Depredation Account. (By law, when the account reaches $3-million, the interest can be used for habitat rehabilitation. The Fish and Game Commission directed the Department to use this money to get the Access Yes program started.)
The current depredation program was developed in 1991 when sportsmen and landowners reached a compromise that called for spreading the cost of damage by big game animals. The account was started with $1,250,000 in license dollars and $1,000,000 from the state general fund. The proposed transfer out of the $1,000,000 in general funds means the depredation program will be funded entirely by license dollars.
As of this morning, no number has been assigned to this bill. It is likely to be on a very fast track and could be voted on by the House as early as Thursday.
The Department will be sending a letter opposing the transfer. Copies will be sent to House and Senate leadership, the House Appropriations, House Resources, Senate Finance, Senate Resources committees and the Governor."
"This morning, the House Appropriations Committee voted to transfer $1,000,000 from the Fish and Game Secondary Depredation Account to the State General Fund. The committee also voted to transfer funds from several other state agencies to the General Fund. The transfers are part of a bill that will be introduced tomorrow. (As of today, no bill number has been assigned.)
The transfer from the Depredation Account threatens the future of the Access Yes program, which will pay landowners for providing hunting and fishing access. Fish and Game planned to start the Access Yes program with interest generated from the Secondary Depredation Account. (By law, when the account reaches $3-million, the interest can be used for habitat rehabilitation. The Fish and Game Commission directed the Department to use this money to get the Access Yes program started.)
The current depredation program was developed in 1991 when sportsmen and landowners reached a compromise that called for spreading the cost of damage by big game animals. The account was started with $1,250,000 in license dollars and $1,000,000 from the state general fund. The proposed transfer out of the $1,000,000 in general funds means the depredation program will be funded entirely by license dollars.
As of this morning, no number has been assigned to this bill. It is likely to be on a very fast track and could be voted on by the House as early as Thursday.
The Department will be sending a letter opposing the transfer. Copies will be sent to House and Senate leadership, the House Appropriations, House Resources, Senate Finance, Senate Resources committees and the Governor."
