NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A6523
SPONSOR: Miller B TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to
including the mourning dove within the definition of "migratory game
birds" and to allow for their taking
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
Relates to including the mourning dove within the definition of "migra-
tory game birds" and to allow for their taking.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1. Amends the environmental conservation law by including the
mourning dove within the definition of migratory game birds. Section
2. States the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Currently the mourning dove is not classified as a migratory game bird
and illegal to hunt in New York State. Mourning dove hunting ranked 8th
in hunter participation back in 2011 with 1,271,000 dove hunters in the
41 dove hunting states which include the US territory of Puerto Rico;
three Canadian providences (British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec), and
throughout Central and South America. In the 1980s, Cornell researchers
estimated New York's mourning dove population to be around 10 million
birds. With the future land use, changes that includes reduced till
agriculture, and permaculture are likely to increase both the conti-
nental population and New York's population of mourning doves. Estab-
lishing the mourning dove within the definition of "migratory game
birds" would make it consistent with the federal classification and
allow NYS DEC to implement a mourning dove harvest strategy and hunting
season for hunters to enjoy the full benefits of wildlife in New York
State.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2018:S7202 , 2020: S1598
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None to the state.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately, provided, however, that the
commissioner of environmental conservation shall promulgate any rules
and regulations necessary for the implementation of this act on or
before such effective date.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6523
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 19, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. B. MILLER -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Environmental Conservation
AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to
including the mourning dove within the definition of "migratory game
birds" and to allow for their taking
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subparagraph 1 of paragraph a of subdivision 2 of section
2 11-0103 of the environmental conservation law, as amended by chapter 47
3 of the laws of 1976, is amended to read as follows:
4 (1) "Migratory game birds" means the Anatidae or waterfowl, commonly
5 known as geese, brant, swans and river and sea ducks; the Rallidae,
6 commonly known as rails, American coots, mud hens and gallinules; the
7 Limicolae or shorebirds, commonly known as woodcock, snipe, plover,
8 surfbirds, sandpipers, tattlers and curlews; the Corvidae, commonly
9 known as jays, crows and magpies; the Zenaida macroura, commonly known
10 as the mourning dove.
11 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately. Effective immediately,
12 the commissioner of environmental conservation shall promulgate any
13 rules and regulations necessary for the implementation of this act on or
14 before such effective date.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10125-01-1
