(Submitted Photo)

With summer bearing down on us and the heat forcing us to limit outdoor activity at times, you may find yourself sitting around wondering what to do.

I would like to suggest taking the time to read a couple of the iconic books used in wildlife management introductory courses. These books give you the perspective of some of the scientists that shaped modern wildlife management.

The first book is “A Sand County Almanac” by Aldo Leopold. Leopold uses stories, humor and science to call for something he calls the Land Ethic. Published in 1949, a great amount of what Leopold write about still holds true today. The goal of Leopold’s book was to get people to treat the land (including the water, fish, wildlife) with respect and honor so that it can continue going forward.

The second book is “The Canvasback on a Prairie Marsh” by H. Albert Hochbaum. The book is told from looking at the life of a canvasback duck for one year on the Delta March in Manitoba Canada. The Delta Marsh was later the inspiration for the waterfowl conservation group, Delta Waterfowl. Hochbaum was asked in 1938 by the owner of the Delta Marsh to help conduct research into waterfowl management. The book does a good job of mixing in anecdotal events combined with scientific data that to back up what Hochbaum believed was happening.

As July comes to an end, the notion that hunting season is not that far away becomes more of a reality. Beginning August 1,

New York hunting licenses can be purchased for the 2020 fall hunting seasons. For those of us who like to hunt resident Canada geese, this means only one month until we can set out the decoys and try to get birds to come within shotgun range.

If you are strictly a deer hunter, you should make note of licenses being sold because that means you can apply for your Deer Management Permits (DMPs), commonly referred to as doe tags, from August 1 until October 1. For all the NYSDEC Region 7 Wildlife Management Units the odds of receiving a DMP remain close to the same as they were last year.

In 7M, the odds of a New York resident receiving a DMP when put as their first choice is high. This means at least 2 out of 3 applicants will receive one. When put as the second choice, the change is medium. This means between 1 and 2 out of 3 applicants will receive one (as an overall average for the unit). In 7P, first choice is low for New York residents, meaning less than 1 out of 3 applicants will receive a DMP.

There is no option for 7P as the applicant’s second choice. The 7R and 7S units have a high chance for the first and second choice for resident hunters. Just into Region 4, the 4F unit has high odds for the first choice and the applicant must have preference points to list 4F as their second choice. In 4O, applicants must have preference points to list the unit as their first choice and there are no tags being given when listed as the second choice. For more information on DMPs, additional WMU chances, and the odds for nonresident hunters, you can go to the NYSDEC website.

Another topic worth noting is that the Bowhunter Education Course is now offered online just as the regular Hunter Education course has been. It has a fee of $30 that is collected by the software company (not the NYSDEC) and it is available through August 31. Details can be found on the NYSDEC website.