The New York State Conservation Council Spring Meeting was held at Arnot Forest and Reynolds Game Farm near Ithaca from April 11-13th.  Jim & I both attended on Saturday in person and Sunday on Zoom.

 The format was a bit different than the past few years.  In recent years, the spring meeting has been held on just one day.  This year, the meeting began with a welcome dinner on Friday night.  Saturday was the bulk of the meeting and focused on revitalizing the council committee structure.  The group that attended provided input on combining some of the smaller committees to be more effective.  Many of the attendees volunteered to fill open committee slots.  The resolution process was discussed, and forward progress on the submitted resolutions took place.  Ten resolutions have been submitted. Federations should look for resolutions to be distributed in May for review prior to the fall convention.  During the lunch break, many took advantage of a tour of the maple syrup production facility on the property.  Saturday ended with a group dinner with many of those who attended.  On Sunday, the group met at the Reynolds Game Farm.  The day began with a recap of the previous day’s events.  Evan Wills, biologist and manager from the game farm, spoke about the facility.  Katrina Talbot from the DEC spoke about R3 (Recruitment, Retention, and Reactivation) efforts within the state.  Katrina is the new Hunter Education Administrator.  The meeting ended with a tour of the pheasant farm.

 Lots of energy and enthusiasm came out of the meeting.  We expect exciting things coming from the council over the next months.