AFTER SCHUMER PUSH, FEDS AGREE TO CONTINUE TO ALLOW LOCAL EXPERTS TO DETER FISH-DEVOURING CORMORANT BIRDS ON ONEIDA LAKE – FIVE-YEAR EXTENSION OF PROGRAM WILL PRESERVE ONEIDA LAKE FISHING SEASON & BENEFIT 1,000+ UPSTATE TOURISM DESTINATIONS
For Past Decade, State DEC & Local Anglers Have Used Fed-
Approved Methods to Keep Invasive Cormorant Bird Population In Check At Oneida Lake, But Local Measures Were Set To Expire At End Of June; After Schumer’s Push, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Has Decided to Allow Local Methods To Continue
Without Permission To Continue Current Efforts That Preserve Lake & Fish, Local Officials Would Have Been Forced To Endure Extensive And Unnecessary Federal Permit Process
Schumer: Decision Preserves Environmental Balance and Oneida Lake’s Place As A Critical Economic Resource & Destination For Anglers Across Central New York
Yesterday, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced that, after his push, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) agreed to extend its current order that allows the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to work with local anglers to control on Oneida Lake the invasive and eco-system-damaging double crested cormorant bird population through 2019. If left unchecked, the invasive double-crested cormorants wreak havoc on the lake’s ecosystem and tourist infrastructure by consuming many of the fish that sport fishermen typically target. Schumer explained that the cormorant bird population has been under control at Oneida Lake because FWS has approved humane population control measures that have kept cormorant birds from taking over the lake, but the FWS approval of these measures was set to expire at the end of June. However, after Schumer’s push, the FWS agreed to extend their approval of state and local efforts to curtail the invasive cormorant population through the next five years.
If the current process for controlling the cormorant bird population had expired, the DEC would be forced to undergo an arduous federal approval process that could take more than 30 days to complete, which would sideline local anglers who help identify real-time movements of the bird and execute hazing operations to drive the birds away.
“This is great news: when it comes to humanely controlling the invasive cormorant population on Oneida lake, common sense has prevailed and the feds have correctly tossed the tangle of red tape overboard,” said Schumer. “If the feds went ahead with their plan, local anglers and volunteers looking to keep the Lake’s ecosystem in balance would have faced an approval process akin to a tangled reel. It made perfect sense to allow the current system, which is working, to continue unimpeded and I applaud the Fish and Wildlife Service for listening to us and doing the right thing. With the summer months just around the corner, Oneida Lake will again be a hotspot for fishing, recreation and tourism, and that spells economic activity of all kinds for the region.”
Current FWS regulations that allow local groups, under state supervision and sponsorship, to engage in cormorant control measures would have expired at the end of June 2014. Under the arrangement, local state DEC officials and Oneida Lake Association (OLA) members cooperatively engage in regular and humane cormorant control practices – sometimes referred to as “hazing” methods. These methods include pyrotechnics and other non-lethal alternatives that force cormorants to pass quickly through Oneida Lake during migration, instead of lingering and damaging the ecosystem and tourist infrastructure. This year, because of the spike in cormorants, local DEC experts will not solicit angler volunteers for hazing, but they will still require anglers to help assess Oneida Lake conditions. Moreover, Schumer said, should DEC decide to bring back the angler volunteer program in the future, the current process would need to be preserved.
If the FWS order that permits this arrangement and the local DEC control had expired, it would have required a lengthy federal approval process in order to haze the cormorant bird population.
According to the FWS website, cormorant bird nesting populations can be found on all the Great Lakes in both United States and Canadian waters, on inland lakes like Lake Champlain and Oneida Lake, and on the Niagara River. Because cormorants are conspicuous fish-eating birds, anglers in the Great Lakes basin may consider them a nuisance species and a threat to populations of recreational and commercial fish species. Cormorants feed on small fish like the walleye, yellow perch or gizzard shad, as well as steelhead, lake and brown trout when available.
Schumer noted that the current cormorant bird hazing process is supported by the Oneida Lake Association, a 3,000 member organization made up of anglers and others who rely on the lake for recreation and business. Schumer noted that many of these members have volunteered their time to assist the DEC with hazing the invasive bird and that they stand ready to assist the DEC in the future should the volunteer program be reinstated, depending on need.