Sources: McKinney's Consolidated Laws of New York Annotated, 1984, Articles 3, 11 and 71; 1992 Cumulative Annual Pocket Part.
STATE WILDLIFE POLICY
The state owns all fish, game, wildlife, shellfish, crustacea, and protected insects in the state, except those legally acquired and held in private ownership. A person who kills, takes or possesses such animals consents to title remaining in the state for the purpose of regulating and controlling their use and disposition. (11-0105)
PROTECTED SPECIES OF WILDLIFE
See RELEVANT WILDLIFE DEFINITIONS for listed protected animals.
No person shall pursue, take, wound or kill, buy, sell, or possess protected fish, game, protected wildlife, shellfish, harbor seals, protected crustacea, or protected insects, except as permitted (11-0107).
Endangered species are those designated by the Department as seriously threatened with extinction, and threatened species are those designated likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of their range. Regulations shall include endangered and threatened species designated by the Secretary of the Interior, provided the Commissioner may exclude any species determined to be no longer endangered or threatened. Taking, importation, transportation, possession or sale of endangered or threatened species, or hides or parts, or sale or possession with intent to sell any article made from such species, is prohibited except under permit (11-0535).
No part of the skin or body, whether raw or manufactured, or the animal itself, of the following species may be sold or offered for sale by any individual or entity: leopard, snow leopard, clouded leopard, tiger, Asiatic lion, cheetah, alligator, caiman or crocodile of the order Crocodilius, tortoises of the genus Gopherus, marine turtles of the family Cheloniidae and Dermochelidae, vicuna, wolf, red wolf, kangaroo, polar bear, mountain lion, jaguar, ocelot, margay, sumatran rhinoceros or black rhinoceros. The Commissioner may permit under terms and conditions importation and sale of skin, body or parts of alligators, caiman or crocodiles, and importation, transportation, possession and sale of any species listed above for zoological, educational, and scientific purposes, and for propagation in captivity for preservation, unless prohibited by federal law or regulation (11-0536). See ENFORCEMENT OF WILDLIFE LAWS for seizure and forfeiture provisions. It is unlawful knowingly or with wanton disregard for the consequences to take, possess, sell, purchase, barter, offer to sell, purchase or barter, transport, export, or import any bald or golden eagle alive or dead, or any part, nest or egg without a permit (11-0537). No person shall without license or permit, possess, transport or cause to be transported, import or export any live wolf, coyote, coydog, fox, skunk or raccoon, endangered species, restricted species listed in 11-0536 or other species of wildlife or fish where the Department finds that possession would present a danger to the health or welfare of the people or an indigenous fish or wildlife population. Animals possessed without permit shall be seized and disposed of at Department discretion. No person shall possess, sell or breed ferrets, fitch ferrets or fitch except under revocable license (11-0511).
HABITAT PROTECTION
Polluting streams with materials injurious to fish life, protected wildlife or waterfowl inhabiting those waters, or injurious to propagation of those animals, including state fish hatcheries, is prohibited [details provided as to types of substances and sewage from private lands]. Nothing prevents local governments from prohibiting disposal of earth, refuse or other solids in streams, ponds or lakes in their jurisdiction (11-0503).
No person shall take fish by use of explosives or by shutting or drawing off water. Explosives shall not be used or possessed in or on state waters except for mining or mechanical purposes. Possession of explosives in such places is presumptive evidence of violation. Bass, walleye, trout, lake trout and salmon shall not be disturbed on spawning beds in the closed season, nor shall their spawn or milt be taken from spawning beds. Any noise or disturbance of waters or banks with intent to drive fish into a net (thumping) is prohibited unless expressly permitted. No person owning, leasing, operating or maintaining a dam holding back water who knows or has reason to know is inhabited by fish shall draw off water so as to cause the loss of a substantial number of fish, without written permission of the Department. This does not apply: to federal, state or local governments or any agency or subdivision; to any dam or impoundment used in the production of electric power; in the event of an emergency, such as fire, flood, storm, drought where drawing off water is required for public safety or public health; to any artificial or man-made water lying wholly within the boundaries of privately owned or leased lands and operated as a farm pond, licensed farm fish pond, licensed fishing preserve water or licensed private trout or bass hatchery. No person taking or assisting in taking fish shall discard fish carcass or parts into the waters or upon public or private lands contiguous to and within 100 feet of the waters unless the lands are owned by the person or unless the person enters or remains with the permission of the owner. This section shall not be deemed to prohibit: the return to the water of live fish; use of fish or parts as bait; discarding of fish carcasses or parts not within 100 feet of any shore; disposal of fish carcasses or parts into suitable garbage or refuse collection systems or by burial; incidental cleaning of fish for consumption except that no wastes may be disposed of in waters or lands contiguous to and within 100 feet of any public boat launching sites or public docking facilities (11-1321).
Any enclosed land or water owned by the state may be set aside as a refuge for protection of fish, wildlife, trees and plants. The consent of the riparian owners shall be obtained before lands under water and the waters shall be set aside. Lands and waters set aside as a game refuge shall remain so until the Department permits taking of fish and wildlife. The Department shall adopt regulations in relation to fish and wildlife on lands of the national wildlife refuge system to conform to the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act, and regulations of the Secretary of the Interior. Consent of the state is given to the US to obtain by purchase, gift, devise or lease areas of land or water, in New York, for migratory bird reservations in accordance with the Migratory Bird Conservation Act, reserving to New York full jurisdiction and authority over such areas not incompatible with the administration, maintenance, protection and control by the US (11-2105 through -2107).
The owner or person having exclusive rights to hunt and fish on private land or water may establish a private park for propagation and protection of fish and wildlife by publishing [details provided] notice stating that it will be used as a private park. Part of a private lake or pond may be a private park, if all riparian owners consent. An owner or person having exclusive rights to hunt or fish upon enclosed lands or lands used in whole or in part for farming purposes, or lands where foxes are kept in captivity for breeding purposes, or a person having exclusive rights to take fish in private waters, or a game bird breeder's licensee or game animal breeder's licensee may protect such lands or waters, or the licensed premises, by posting or personally serving notices as provided. The limitation against establishment of a private park and the prohibition against posting of private lands and waters stocked by the state shall not apply to: premises licensed under a game bird breeder's, game animal breeder's, shooting preserve or fishing preserve license, or premises stocked by the state while subject to a cooperative agreement as provided (11-2109). Areas protected by the Department and protected private parks and private lands shall be posted [extensive details provided]. All notices on private parks or private lands or on state game refuges shall bear a conspicuous statement [details provided]. A notice in the case of a state game refuge shall also bear a warning against taking or injuring trees or plants [details provided for posting of shooting preserves, fishing preserves and fishways or dams]. Personal service of a notice in writing with a description of the premises and a warning shall be as if the premises described were posted (11-2111).
No person shall take fish from a stream within 50 rods of a fishway or dam, prohibited in a notice. When other lands or waters are posted, and when written notice is served as provided, no person shall: in a state game refuge, take or injure any tree or plant; in lands or waters protected by the Department, take or disturb fish or wildlife, or enter the premises, except with written permission or with an order of the Department; in a licensed game breeding or shooting preserve, take or disturb wildlife except waterfowl within 25 yards of any shore line without licensee written consent; in the case of private parks, a licensed game breeding or shooting preserve, take or disturb fish, wildlife or domestic game or trespass with an implement by which fish or wildlife may be disturbed, taken or killed, without consent of the owner of the preserve or the hunting or fishing rights; in other private lands, hunt, trap, fish, or trespass without consent of the owner of the lands or of the hunting or fishing rights; in lands where foxes are kept in captivity, approach within 25 yards of their enclosure without consent. When a restricted area is established and notices are erected, no person shall do any act on the restricted area prohibited by the notices or without compliance with directions on the notice. No person shall injure, deface or remove a notice erected and maintained (11-2113).
See Agency Advisory Boards under STATE FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCIES for Fish and Wildlife Management Regions Cooperative Program.
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New Mexico Center for Wildlife Law
University of New Mexico School of Law
1117 Stanford NE, Albuquerque, NM 87131
(505) 277-5006
lprovenc@unm.edu