SUNY-ESF has banned hunting with firearms on two of its properties to avoid felony charges from the NY SAFE Act, allowing only bow hunting and trapping as hunting methods.

The properties include 2,800 acres near the Ranger School in Wanakena and 2,500 acres in Warrensburg, N.Y., according to a Sept. 9 Post-Standard article. The ban is a response to Governor Andrew Cuomo’s NY SAFE Act, which increased the penalties for possessing a firearm on school property.

The act said hunting grounds owned and maintained by the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry were excluded from firearm penalties. But the two areas are owned by Syracuse University and held in trust for ESF, meaning the penalties of the SAFE Act still apply, according to the article.

The school changed its policy because it was worried about students facing felony charges for possessing firearms on educational property, according to a Sept. 13 Watertown Daily Times article.

Wanakena is north of Syracuse and home to both the Cranberry Lake Biological Station in St. Lawrence County and the SUNY-ESF Ranger School, according to ESF’s website. The two properties include wildlife such as snowshoe hares, coyotes, bobcats, moose and snapping turtles.

Alex Hascha, a sophomore wildlife science major from SUNY-ESF, has hunted on the Wanakena grounds and opposes the ban, saying it removes an enjoyable weekend activity. He believes the ban is breaking up a Ranger School tradition.

He added those who hunt with firearms in Wanakena are not using them to harm others, but simply to enjoy the outdoors. Hascha said he does not plan to bow hunt or trap.

“Many of the students are hunters and have enjoyed hunting on the property. The ability to go hunting on the weekends was one of the main reasons I chose to attend the Ranger School,” he said, adding that he mostly hunts snowshoe hares and grouse.

Warrensburg, the second property on ESF’s campus with the firearm ban, houses one of the New York Department of Environmental Conservation’s environmental education camps. According the ESF website, it includes an 85-acre lake, trails, outdoor workshops and several outdoor activities.

Andrew Timmis, a wildlife science major, said Cranberry Lake was about a lot more than just hunting.

“I never even saw people hunting there. There was a lot of fishing, but no firearms that I could see,” Timmis said.

He added that Cranberry Lake was not about the hunting, but rather about the great company he had there and being outdoors.

Published on September 16, 2013 at 12:31 am