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WHEREAS, excessive wildlife, and the economic and natural resource losses to farmers, homeowners, businesses and public lands caused by such wildlife populations, continue at critical levels; and

WHEREAS, the 1999 Report to the Governor on Deer Management in New Jersey pointed out that hunting as a deer control methodology is more effective when used in conjunction with other population control methods, and that additional tools and approaches to deal with the over-abundance of deer are needed; and

WHEREAS, the report proposed recommendations to control excessive deer populations through new management initiatives, legislative actions to provide public funding for additional deer control, and for deer research and public education; and

WHEREAS, developmental encroachment into animal habitats has resulted in greater human contact with wild animals and birds, thereby posing a substantial risk of transmission of disease between humans and animals; and

WHEREAS, this approach is essential not only to control the deer population, but also that of black bears, geese, European Starlings, turkeys, and small mammals, whose populations have outgrown the carrying capacity of their natural habitats; and

WHEREAS, wildlife management requires a multidisciplinary and inter-governmental approach that provides sound scientific support for effectively designed and implemented control measures that reach across multiple jurisdictions and constituencies and the agencies committed to wildlife management must achieve greater levels of cooperation with each other to make the most of available resources, streamline the permitting process, and simplify outreach and education so that the general public is made aware of the health and safety, economic, and environmental problems that wildlife pose, and ensure that the programs developed to manage the excessive populations are efficiently and effectively administered; and

WHEREAS
, the USDA and New Jersey Department of Agriculture took the first steps in achieving a collaborative approach to wildlife management through the development of the Wildlife Memorandum of Understanding and the establishment of the Wildlife Management Inter-agency Working Group, respectively; and

WHEREAS, these initiatives bring together the leading officials in wildlife management to work cooperatively to implement action-oriented programs designed to reduce the impact of wildlife on our farms, open space, and communities.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that we, the delegates to the 91st State Agricultural Convention, assembled in Atlantic City, New Jersey on February 8, 2006, emphatically urge the New Jersey Fish and Game Council and/or the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife to:

· Support and provide all the necessary funding for the New Jersey Department of Agriculture’s interagency efforts to resolve wildlife management issues.
· Allow any and all depredation permits to be valid for one year and streamline the process for renewal.
· Expedite the approval and implementation of new community-based programs, as they become available, to provide the much needed additional tools for the control of deer and wildlife populations.
· Continue to support a black bear hunting season in successive years.
· Continue to work with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to extend the statewide resident goose season year-round, and increase the daily bag limit except during times of migration.
· Encourage the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to issue a general depredation order for resident Canada geese.
· Increase the number of available turkey hunting permits in recognition of the growth of the turkey population throughout the state, and conduct research on turkey damage.
· Investigate the feasibility of a pilot program for using harvested geese in feeding programs for the hungry.
· Continue co-operative Avian Influenza sampling with the New Jersey Department of Agriculture during all wild bird activities as a surveillance measure for High Path Avian Influenza.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that we respectfully request the New Jersey Legislature to:

· Pass legislation to permanently and adequately fund wildlife management programs, including the restoration of the DEP deer-fencing program.
· Pass legislation that requires all publicly owned lands purchased or operated with any public funds be developed with site-specific wildlife management plans, approved by the the New Jersey Fish and Wildlife Service or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in consultation with the Department of Agriculture.
· Pass legislation to annually appropriate funds to continuing statewide deer control and venison donation program whereby hunters and farmers can donate deer harvested by hunting, depredation permits and other special programs to charitable public food banks.
· Adopt legislation that would provide additional protections and limit liability for landowners, especially for those who allow essential hunting to control wildlife damage, thereby encouraging the opening of additional lands for that purpose.
· Consider legislation authorizing and funding the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife to make restitution to farmers for wildlife damage to crops, livestock and bee hives and for costs incurred for materials and labor used to prevent damage caused by wildlife.
· Enact legislation to annually appropriate funds for wildlife damage surveys for New Jersey, wildlife damage research, and education at the Rutgers/NJAES Center for Wildlife Damage Control.
· Enact legislation to annually appropriate funds to the Division of Fish and Wildlife for wildlife control and educational programs.
· Support the current composition and continued autonomy of the Fish and Game Council

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that we respectfully request New Jersey’s Congressional Delegation to sponsor and support federal legislation to increase, by at least $295,000, for the USDA, APHIS, Wildlife Services budget for staffing and support for a pilot Cooperative Waterfowl Damage Management Program in New Jersey; and to consider legislation authorizing and funding the U.S. Fish and Wildlife to make restitution to farmers for wildlife damage to crops, livestock and bee hives and for costs incurred for materials and labor used to prevent damage caused by wildlife.