Chenango County Tourism: Naturally Speaking, by Bob McNitt

'Naturally Speaking' by Bob McNitt'

Other than the occasional quaint village or town, field or pasture, the vast majority of Central New York's natural beauty is unblemished by manmade embellishments. It is in this natural arena that the visitor can discover a lush floral environment teeming with assorted fauna. The variety of wildlife the area hosts is impressive and abundant, but some species draw more attention than others. The deer, wild turkey, ruffed grouse, gray squirrel, rabbit and hare are good examples, since
all are popular game species.
At no time in recorded history have there been more deer in Central New York than are present today. Hunters are enjoying the highest success rates ever, and the area's deer herd has continued to grow, enhancing opportunities even further. With its generously long, continuous hunting season --bowhunting opportunities begin in mid-October and the primitive weapons seasons close in mid-December -the area offers one of the longest big game hunting opportunity spans in the entire state.

Turkey

Last fall, hunters took in excess of 30,000 deer in the region, and such high harvest numbers have become the norm for many years, thanks to excellent habitat and careful management by the Dept. of Environmental
Conservation. To put this in perspective, the area's1997 deer-take produced more than a million pounds of quality venison-a natural resource that is annually renewable.
Another plus for the area has to do with its expansive state forests. For example, Chenango County has the largest total acreage of public lands and forests of any county outside the Adirondack Park.
Likewise, many of the area's other counties contain sizable expanses of state land on which to hunt.
Other than deer, wild turkeys probably attract more hunting interest than any other game species. And, like the deer, the birds have prospered here to such an extent that seeing flocks of a hundred or more in late-winter fields has become rather commonplace.

While we have a liberal fall hunting season spanning nearly two months which allows taking either hens or gobblers, the special spring season for gobblers also generates a strong following. Thanks to our large population of birds, turkey hunter success rates run very high in both seasons.
Small game availability in the region is also excellent. Gray squirrels are very abundant along the plentiful mast- producing hardwood ridges and also along the woodland perimeters of standing corn fields. Ruffed grouse inhabit many of these same covers, and several state forests, such as the Pharsalia Wildlife Management Area, are targeted and nurtured to yield ideal grouse habitat. There are varying hares in the low-growth conifer forests, and cottontail rabbits flourish in dense
bottomland habitat. Ring-necked pheasants, both native and stocked, are
present in the low-growth, dense covers along major river valleys.

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Waterfowlers will find mallards, black ducks, wood ducks and teal on the rivers, larger streams and plentiful beaver ponds of the region. Canada geese are literally everywhere, but tend to favor the alfalfa and cut corn, wheat and oat fields. Hunters seeking the challenge of
pursuing furbearers have a large variety to choose from. The area's population of coyotes, red and gray fox, and raccoon is among the highest in the state.
Fishing is another activity with a large following. Most of the upper Susquehanna River drainage lies in our region, and these major tributaries-the Upper Susquehanna, Chenango, Unadilla and Tioughnioga rivers-offer great fishing for a variety of game- and panfish. These waters are home to smallmouth bass, walleye, pike, pickerel, panfish, and in some sections, tiger muskie and hybrid striped bass. There are DEC car-top and canoe launch access sites along these flows, as well as undeveloped launching potential at various bridge crossings.

There is also quality trout fishing in the area's numerous streams and brooks, many of which enjoy substantial annual state stocking to supplement their native trout numbers. But with hundreds of miles of streams to choose from, finding a solitary, scenic spot to catch trout is not a problem. There are streams where public fishing access rights have been acquired by the state and are so designated by bankside signs.
Low-impact (wilderness) camping is also allowed in many sections of the state forests, but campers should first check with DEC's Division of Lands and Forests to ascertain specific regulations.

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November 30, 2000