Section 11-0501. Fish and wildlife management practices cooperative program

1. Purpose.
    The cooperative program provided in this section is authorized for the
  purpose  of  obtaining on the privately owned or leased lands and waters
  of the state practices  of  fish  and  wildlife  management  which  will
  preserve  and  develop  the fish and wildlife resources of the state and
  improve access to them for recreational purposes by the  people  of  the
  state.
    2. Definitions.
    a.  "Fish  and wildlife management" means management of either fish or
  wildlife, or both.
    b. "Region" means a fish and wildlife management region established as
  provided in subdivision 3.
    c.  "Regional  board"  means  a  board  constituted  as  provided   in
  subdivision  4. "State board" means the board constituted as provided in
  subdivision 5.
    d. "Cooperator" means a person with  whom  an  agreement  is  made  as
  provided in subdivision 9.
    e.  "Regional  supervisor for natural resources" means the employee of
  the department bearing that title in each region.
    f.  "Department",  "commissioner",  "fish"  and  "wildlife"  have  the
  meanings stated in section 11-0103.
    3. Fish and wildlife management regions.
    The  commissioner  shall  establish  not  to  exceed  fifteen fish and
  wildlife management regions of one or more counties  each,  which  shall
  include all counties of the state not wholly included within a city.
    4. Regional fish and wildlife management boards.
    a. A regional fish and wildlife management board shall be appointed in
  each  of  the  regions  established under subdivision 3 of this section.
  Such regional board shall consist of  three  members  from  each  county
  within  the  region which has appointed its members. In each county, one
  member shall be a member of or represent the  board  of  supervisors  or
  county  legislative  body,  one member shall represent the landowners of
  the county and one member shall represent the sportsmen of  the  county.
  Such  members from each county shall be appointed by the chairman of the
  board of supervisors of such county with the approval of  the  board  of
  supervisors, except that in a county having a county president, a county
  executive  or other chief executive officer, the chief executive officer
  shall appoint the members representing such county with the approval  of
  the  board  of supervisors of such county. In a county having an elected
  legislative  body  the  presiding  officer  shall  appoint  the  members
  representing  such  county with the approval of the legislative body. If
  there is no presiding officer then the members representing such  county
  shall  be  appointed  by the legislative body as a whole. If a member of
  the board of  supervisors  or  legislative  body  is  not  available  to
  actively  participate  on  the  fish  and  wildlife  management board, a
  representative shall be selected who is an elected  county  official  or
  who   is  employed  by  the  county  government  in  a  position  having
  administrative or managerial authority. A landowner representative  must
  actually  reside  upon  rural  lands  within  the county and actually be
  engaged in the operation of such lands for  production  of  agricultural
  commodities  or forest products. If a landowner representative with such
  qualifications is not available to actively participate on the fish  and
  wildlife  management  board,  a  representative may be appointed who has
  been for at least five of the past  ten  years,  before  commencing  his
  first term in any series of consecutive terms, engaged in such operation
  of  rural  lands, and who resides within the county he represents. If no
  landowner  representative  with  either  of  these   qualifications   is

  available  to  actively  participate on the fish and wildlife management
  board a representative may  be  appointed  who  is  a  resource  manager
  engaged  in  such  operations  on  rural  lands,  and  designated by the
  corporate owner of those lands to represent the landowner's agricultural
  or  silvicultural  interests. In the case of certain counties designated
  by the full state board with a scarcity  of  rural  lands  operated  for
  production of agricultural commodities or forest products, the landowner
  representative  shall own such rural lands in New York state, whether or
  not those properties lie  within  the  county  wherein  he  resides  and
  represents. A sportsman representative must be a resident of the county.
  The  said chief executive officer, presiding officer or legislative body
  shall  receive  and  consider   for   appointment   as   the   landowner
  representative,  the  recommendations made by the county farm bureau and
  Pomona grange, and for appointment as  the  sportsmen's  representative,
  the  recommendations  made  by the county units of organized sportsmen's
  groups. The term of office  of  regional  board  members  shall  be  two
  calendar  years.  A member shall be eligible to succeed himself not more
  than three times and shall thereafter be eligible for reappointment only
  after one term out of office. The term of the sportsmen's representative
  and the board of supervisors or county legislative  body  representative
  shall  expire  at  the  end  of  the odd numbered years; the term of the
  landowner representative shall expire at the end of  the  even  numbered
  years.  An  alternate  board  of  supervisors or county legislative body
  representative, sportsmen's representative and landowner  representative
  may  also  be appointed, who shall be available to serve in the event of
  the temporary inability of  the  member  sportsmen's  representative  or
  member  landowner  representative  or  board  of  supervisors  or county
  legislative body representative to so function. A vacancy in  membership
  of  a  regional board shall be filled in the same manner as the original
  appointment for the balance of  the  unexpired  term  during  which  the
  vacancy occurs; if a supervisor member or county legislative body member
  shall  cease to be a supervisor or member of the legislative body before
  the expiration of his  term  as  a  member  of  the  regional  board,  a
  successor  shall be appointed for the unexpired balance of the term as a
  member of the regional board. The chairman of the Board of Directors  of
  each  soil  and  water  conservation  district  and the chairman of each
  regional forest practice board within the fish and  wildlife  management
  region,  or  his  or  their  representatives,  shall be advisory members
  without vote.
    b. Each regional  board  shall  elect  annually  from  its  members  a
  chairman,  a  vice  chairman and a representative to the state board and
  may elect a secretary. The regional supervisor for natural resources may
  serve as secretary of the board if the board so  requests,  but  in  any
  event such supervisor's services shall always be available to the board.
    5. State fish and wildlife management board.
    a.  There  shall  be  a state fish and wildlife management board which
  shall  consist  of  three   representatives,   one   each   representing
  landowners,  sportsmen,  and county legislative bodies, from each of the
  existing regional boards, and, as advisory members of the board  without
  vote,  the  following  persons  during  their term of office as such, or
  their representatives: the Commissioner of  Environmental  Conservation,
  the  Commissioner  of  Agriculture  and  Markets,  the  Commissioner  of
  Transportation, the  Commissioner  of  Parks,  Recreation  and  Historic
  Preservation,  the dean of the New York State College of Agriculture and
  Life Sciences, the president of the State University of New York College
  of Environmental Science and Forestry, the chairman of  the  State  Soil
  and  Water  Conservation  Committee,  the  chairman  of the State Forest
  Practice Board, the president of the New York Farm Bureau, the Master of

  the New  York  State  Grange,  the  president  of  the  New  York  State
  Conservation  Council,  and the president of the New York State Division
  of Izaak Walton League.
    b. Each member other than the advisory members shall be elected by and
  from  the membership of the respective regional boards for a term of one
  year from the day of his election, unless within such  period  he  shall
  cease  to  be a member of the regional board which elected him, in which
  event he shall cease to be a member of the state board  on  the  day  he
  ceases  to  be a member of such regional board. Any vacancy in the state
  board other than in the office of an advisory member shall be filled for
  the balance of the unexpired  term  so  vacated  by  election  from  its
  membership by the regional board in which such vacancy occurred.
    c.  The  members  of  the  state board shall elect one of their voting
  members to serve as chairman, and another as vice chairman, to serve  in
  the  absence  or  inability  to serve of the chairman. An officer of the
  department designated by the commissioner may act as secretary  for  the
  board if the board so elect; otherwise a secretary shall be elected from
  the membership.
    d. The state board shall meet at the call of the chairman or secretary
  when and where necessary within the state.
    6. Regional and state board members; expenses.
    Regional  and  state  board members, including advisory members, shall
  receive no salary, but their necessary traveling expenses when attending
  meetings of the regional or state  boards  shall  be  paid  from  moneys
  appropriated  to the department for travel and shall be paid on vouchers
  certified by the chairman of the appropriate  regional  board  or  state
  board upon the audit of the comptroller in the manner provided by law.
    7. Duties of regional boards.
    a.  Each  regional  board  shall  formulate  a  statement  of fish and
  wildlife management practices appropriate for its region and  submit  it
  for  approval  to  the  state  board  and the commissioner. After such a
  statement of practices has been approved by  the  state  board  and  the
  commissioner,  the regional board shall formally adopt such statement of
  practices and encourage landowners, lessees  and  sportsmen  within  the
  region to adopt and carry out the practices approved.
    b.  A  copy  of  each  resolution so adopting a statement of practices
  shall be filed in the principal office of the department.
    c. Any practices formulated in specific terms shall, unless  otherwise
  expressly   limited   by   the   words   "without  variation",  "without
  alternative", or the like, be interpreted as permitting such  variations
  or alternatives as shall be accepted by the regional board as satisfying
  the  purpose  of  the  practices.  But no such variation or alternatives
  shall be deemed to be a compliance with the practices  for  purposes  of
  subdivisions  9  and  10  unless  the  approval of the regional board is
  recorded in writing.
    8. Duties of the state board.
    a. The state board shall pass upon and approve or disapprove the  fish
  and wildlife management practices formulated by the regional boards. The
  state  board  may,  with  the  advice  of  the  commissioner,  and  upon
  recommendations from the regional boards, formulate recommended  uniform
  fish  and  wildlife  management  practices  for similar ecological types
  within the  various  ecological  regions  of  the  state.  Such  uniform
  practices  may  thereafter  be incorporated expressly or by reference in
  the statement of practices formulated by regional boards, but shall  not
  be operative as practices of any region unless so incorporated.
    b. The state board shall also have the following duties and powers:

    (1)  to  recommend to the regional boards such policies and procedures
  for the carrying out of fish and wildlife  management  practices  as  it
  deems appropriate;
    (2) to keep the several regional boards informed of the activities and
  experience  of  all other regional boards in the state and to facilitate
  an interchange of advice and experience between such regional boards and
  cooperation between them,  and  to  provide  advice  and  assistance  in
  coordinating the programs of the several regional boards.
    c.  The  state  board  may submit to the commissioner, recommendations
  with respect to matters delegated by statute to the  department  in  any
  case  where  a  statute  or  regulation of the department may affect the
  carrying out of  fish  and  wildlife  management  practices  under  this
  section.
    9. Cooperation agreements.
    a.  The  commissioner shall have power, through his representative, to
  enter into an agreement in writing with an  owner  or  lessee  of  rural
  lands or waters lying within a fish and wildlife management region or an
  interest  in  such  lands  or waters, or with two or more such owners or
  lessees who agree jointly and severally, for furnishing of services  and
  benefits  as  provided in subdivision 10, in exchange for and subject to
  the condition that such owner or lessee, or owners or lessees, adopt and
  carry out for  a  specified  period  of  time,  upon  such  premises  or
  specified parts thereof, one or more of the fish and wildlife management
  practices adopted by the regional board.
    b.  The commissioner shall provide standard forms for such cooperation
  agreements.
    c. The agreement shall state the period during which it  shall  be  in
  force  and  may provide for renewal. It may also provide for termination
  before the expiration of such period, and for the conditions upon  which
  and the manner in which any privilege of termination may be exercised.
    d.  Without  limitation by paragraph c or by any term of the agreement
  pursuant to paragraph c the failure of a cooperator, or of  any  one  of
  two  or more cooperators who agree jointly and severally, to perform his
  agreement  shall  relieve  the  commissioner  and  the  state  from  the
  obligation  to  furnish  the  services  and  benefits  provided  for  in
  subdivision 10.
    10. State assistance.
    a. Upon the establishment of such region, the  commissioner  may,  and
  upon  organization of the regional board, the commissioner shall provide
  personnel from the department to assist the boards and  the  cooperators
  within the region.
    b. The commissioner shall furnish to cooperators:
    (1) technical services;
    (2)  trees  and  shrubs  from  any  of  the  nurseries operated by the
  department without charge at the nursery, to the extent and  subject  to
  the conditions specified in the agreement with the cooperator;
    (3)   a   subscription,   without   cost,   to   the  New  York  State
  Conservationist magazine.
    c. The commissioner may  also  furnish  to  cooperators  such  further
  technical  assistance,  labor  and  materials,  as  may  be  required in
  compliance with practices approved by the region and authorized by order
  of the commissioner.
    d. The commissioner  may  also  furnish  to  premises  covered  by  an
  agreement and to fish and wildlife upon such premises such protection by
  way  of posting, patrol by environmental conservation officers or forest
  rangers,  inspection  or  checking  stations,  fire  patrols  or   other
  appropriate  means,  within  the limitation of appropriations and of the
  manpower available as may be advisable in his judgment to  protect  fish

  and  wildlife  resources,  provide  for  public safety and encourage the
  opening of private lands and waters to public hunting and  fishing;  but
  neither  this subdivision nor any provision of any agreement pursuant to
  this  section  shall be deemed to constitute an undertaking by the state
  or the department on its behalf  to  furnish  such  posting,  patrol  or
  protection  and neither such agreement nor any provision of the Fish and
  Wildlife Law shall be deemed to create a  ground  of  liability  of  the
  state  for damage to person or property caused by the failure or neglect
  of the state or its  agents,  officers  or  employees  to  furnish  such
  posting, patrol or protection.
    e.  The  agreement  with the cooperator may provide for use by him for
  purposes compatible with its function in  wildlife  management,  of  any
  structure  or  facility created or maintained on his premises with funds
  of the department, or for furnishing to him the incidental  products  of
  any  activity  conducted  on  his  premises  for  purposes  of  wildlife
  management.