A Trip to the Department of Environmental Conservation

To no avail for answers via the Internet, sometime around September 20th, I decided to make a trip across the river and talk to some people who really knew the deal about wildlife law.

When I got to the regional Department of Environmental Conservation HQ in New Paltz, I asked if there was someone who could answer my questions on laws and violation penalties in regards to groundhogs. I then met Gregg, a biologist at the DEC. He was very helpful and genuinely a nice guy.

What I found was that he didn't even really know the rules either; no one does. The reason is because a person basically has to be caught with a groundhog in the back seat of their car (while probably getting pulled over for something else) in order to be penalized. As you can imagine that's incredibly infrequent and since there aren't groundhog cops around, people rarely get caught and penalized, hence no one really knowing the punishment.

This excerpt from a Cornell brochure sums the rules up well:
"Laws and Regulations
The woodchuck is an unprotected species in New York State. Unprotected species may be taken at any time without limit. A hunting license is required, however, to hunt unprotected wildlife with a bow or firearm. Given current Environmental Conservation Law in New York State, woodchucks captured in live traps must be humanely euthanized or released elsewhere
on the landowner’s property. Only licensed nuisance wildlife control operators may transport wildlife off the property and will do so for a fee. Contact your local Department of Environmental
Conservation (DEC) office for the name of a licensed nuisance wildlife control officer
in your area. When considering shooting, trapping, or both to control problem animals, local
ordinances must also be followed, so it is best to consult with local law enforcement authorities or your regional DEC office if you have questions regarding specific
localities. In other states, consult with your state wildlife agency about laws and regulations pertaining to woodchucks before shooting or trapping nuisance animals."

We also talked about "overpopulation". He said that term wasn't appropriate and that saying the area is "over saturated" would make more sense. Still I can't find any numbers.

I found out that a .22 or conibear trap (see picture for the "body trap" in next posting) are the best ways to catch/kill groundhog as professional wildlife control companies use. More on this in the Ways to Kill and Deter Groundhogs post.

He did some research after our talk and emailed me scanned pages for reference. Groundhog are "unprotected" under the Fish and Wildlife Laws and Section 11-0523 refers to when they are "destructive or menacing". Still no real specifics on fees or charges.

In his email Gregg showed interest in this blog and asked for the address. In fear of incriminating myself, I told him jokingly if I told him the blog address "I would have to kill you" and would give him the address if basically he promised not to turn me in.
I have yet to receive a response.