DEC confirms epizootic hemorrhagic disease in two New York deer

ALBANY, NY — The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation confirmed that two white-tailed deer in the Town of Esopus, Ulster County, died after contracting epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD).

The DEC is currently following up on reports of several other dead deer in Dutchess, Ulster, and Westchester counties.

The EHD virus is an often fatal disease of deer that is transmitted by biting midges, the small bugs often called no-see-ums or “punkies.” The disease is not spread from deer to deer and humans cannot be infected by deer or bites from midges. Once infected with EHD, deer usually die within 36 hours.

Sightings of sick or dying deer should be reported to the nearest DEC Regional Office or Environmental Conservation police officer.

For more information, visit Cornell University’s Wildlife Health Lab website.

Art at the Birdhouse Gallery

HANCOCK, NY — The Birdhouse Gallery of Contemporary Miniature Art opened its third show on August 7, in an exhibit titled “Breaking the Frame” and featuring work in non-traditional shapes by artists Sunny Chapman, Christina Massey, Dennis Tomkins and Jeanne Tremel.

This is the gallery’s third group show this season, and it will run through September 3. Sunny Chapman is the curator.

Located on Front Street in Hancock, the Birdhouse is about the size of a large birdhouse.

For more information, see its Facebook page at The Birdhouse Gallery or on its website https://www.sunnychapmanart.com/collections/159255.

Orders are being taken for fish stocking program

LIBERTY, NY — The Sullivan County Soil and Water Conservation District is now taking orders for its annual fish stocking program. Pond owners who want to stock the pond with rainbow trout, brook trout or fathead minnows this fall can order fish from the district until Monday, September 27.

The pickup day is Friday, October 1.

Anyone stocking a pond with fish must apply for a permit through the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation in New Paltz.

For more information, see the district’s website at sullivanswcd.org or contact the district office at 845/292-6552 for a brochure, order form and a permit application.

Licensing exams for falconry, wildlife rehabilitation and leashed dog tracking

NEW YORK STATE — The state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is holding examinations to be an apprentice falconer, a wildlife rehabilitator or to obtain a leashed tracking dog license. Online exams are scheduled for Friday, August 27. There will be no in-person exams this year.

The exams are free but the five-year falconry license will cost $40 and the five-year tracking dog license has a $50 fee plus a $25 application fee. There is no charge for the five-year wildlife rehabilitator license.

The deadline for registrations is August 20.

For more information, contact the Special Licenses Unit by mail at NYS DEC Special Licenses Unit, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233-4752; by phone at 518/402-8985; or by email at SpecialLicenses@dec.ny.gov.

Upper Delaware Council hosts 77 at the 33rd annual raft trip

NARROWSBURG, NY — The Upper Delaware Council’s (UDC) 33rd annual family raft trip attracted 77 people on August 1.

Rafters paddled from the Town of Lumberland, NY to Westfall Township in Pennsylvania.

The individual rafting parties launched from the staircase access and floated six miles down to Kittatinny Canoes’ Matamoras base.

The UDC organizes the event on the first Sunday of August each year, on alternating sections of the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River. The goal is to promote awareness and stewardship of the river.

For more information on the UDC and its activities, visit its Narrowsburg office, call at 845/252-3022 or go to www.upperdelawarecouncil.org.

Pressler, Babcock to head Women’s Bar Association of Orange and Sullivan Counties

GOSHEN, NY — Kelly A. Pressler, a partner at the law firm Jacobowitz and Gubits, has been elected President of the Women’s Bar Association of Orange and Sullivan Counties (WBAOSC).

Michele L. Babcock, managing partner at the same firm, was elected vice-president.

Pressler concentrates on general, commercial, municipal and Surrogate’s Court litigation. Babcock works in municipal, land use and environmental law.

This is Pressler’s second term as president. She was vice president prior to that. Babcock has previously served as vice president and corresponding secretary.

WBAOSC is one of 20 chapters of the Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York, an organization with over 4,000 members.  The group is focused on advancing the status of women in society and of women in the legal profession, as well as, according to a statement, the fair and equal administration of justice, “and to act as a unified voice for its members with respect to issues of statewide, national and international significance to women generally and to women attorneys in particular.”

For more information about the WBAOSC, visit their website at http://www.wbaosc.org/