» New York State Proposal to Protect White Deer

This white mom with her newborn fawn are one of the reasons to support a new bill
introduced in New York state to help protect white deer. Photo credit: Dennis Money

New York state’s longtime white deer advocate, Dennis Money (right), has worked with State Senator Pam Helming to draw up legislation to protect white deer in their state. The resulting bill, S9450, was introduced in the Senate’s Environmental Conservation Committee on March 12.

The bill would protect white deer (both leucistic and albino) and black deer (melanistic) on “public lands” in the state. Public lands would include state parks, wildlife management areas, conservation easements, and forest preserves in the Adirondack and Catskill parks. The bill, however, would not prevent the hunting of these deer on private property.

Dennis worked for years to protect a large population of white deer at the Seneca Army Depot south of Lake Ontario in the Finger Lakes Region of New York state. His organization, Seneca White Deer, was unable to buy land when the government sold off the abandoned depot property in 2016, but they were able to lease acreage from the new owner, establish a preserve, build a welcome center, and give bus tours of the white deer.

Despite the popularity of the tours, Seneca White Deer could not cover the large rental fee for the property and control reverted back to the owner in 2019. The preserve, along with the welcome center, is now operated as a private conservation property called Deer Haven Park and continues to give tours. The Seneca White Deer organization is no longer active, but Dennis has turned his attention to the place where the highest white deer protection can occur: in the government and within the state’s game laws.

Bill S9450 is currently in the New York State Senate Environmental Conservation Committee. The committee must approve the bill before it can move on to the full New York Senate for a vote. If the bill passes the State Senate, it will have to go through a similar approval process in the State Assembly. If the Assembly passes the bill, it will go to New York’s governor to be signed (hopefully) and become law.

If you live in New York state be sure to contact your legislators and encourage them to vote for this bill. It is not perfect (the private property exclusion is unfortunate), but it’s a step forward and the bill could be even more important as a prototype for white deer protection in other states. Dennis encourages people to tell legislators how much the white deer mean to them and why protection is important.

Dennis asks everyone: “Please contact Senator Pete Harckham, Chair of the Environmental Conservation Committee, and ask him to support the passage of this bill into law. In addition, please contact your local Assembly person and Senator referencing your support of this bill. Just tell them in your own words why protecting these unique wildlife resources is so important to you and to New York. Finally, please tell your friends and relatives to also help support this cause.”

If you do not live in New York state, you can contact New York legislators as well. People do not have to be residents of a state to advocate for a law. Lawmakers give priority to their constituents, but out-of state voices can sometimes influence local decisions, especially with a bill like this that could affect tourism.

Google AI says: While wildlife is often managed locally under the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, it is considered a public resource, allowing nonresidents to contact lawmakers, join conservation groups, or support campaigns to influence policy.

Consumptive sports (hunting, fishing, trapping) get the vast majority of any state’s natural resource attention and revenues. It is so important to give non-consumptive sports (wildlife watching, birding, photography) the attention they deserve, since so many more people are involved in these activities.

Interestingly, New York protects its moose population, but not its white deer, which are much smaller in numbers.

A “sister” bill, NY A4304, was introduced last year and is now in committee in the Assembly. If passed it would authorize the production of special “White Deer” license plates and create a fund for support of the Seneca white deer. Dennis was active in introducing this bill back in 2020, but the bill was not acted on at that time. Hopes are high for a better outcome this time around and also for the new bill to protect white deer throughout the state of New York.