Tony C. Zappia       Focus on the Outdoors

Thank you very much.

Before I begin my remarks, I just want to remind the wait-staff that I have the Vegetarian Plate

with TOFU.

* * *

It’s good to be with people I consider to be among the best stewards of the land … people who

understand in the most practical way why it’s so important to maintain clear rivers, clean air and

boundless open space across New York.

Sportsmen and sportswomen have long been at the forefront of the conservation movement.

It was Daniel Boone who lobbied the

Pre-revolutionary Kentucky legislature for bills to protect wildlife habitat and grazing lands …

It was hunters who persuaded the U.S. Supreme Court that wildlife on private property is owned

by the public, and should be managed for public purposes …

And it was hunters who in 1937 moved Congress to pass the Pittman-Robinson Act which

placed the tax on hunting equipment that now provides hundreds of millions of dollars to protect

wildlife habitat on public lands.

For hundreds of years, sportsmen and sportswomen have been in the vanguard of

environmental stewardship, and that leadership continues today in New York through countless

initiatives and strong legislative advocacy undertaken by the Conservation Council.

Thank you for all that you continue to do to create healthy ecosystems and healthy habitats for

wildlife.

* * *

You may have heard that I’ve been nominated by Governor Spitzer to become the next

Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation.

It’s a tremendous honor.

For me, the nomination is a realization of a dream. To play an integral role in creating the

programs and policies that will shape the environmental future of this state has been a goal of

mine since 1970 – when I was a compliance officer at DEC.

But I know that there are a few folks who don’t share my optimism. Some of you may fall into

that category.

Some of the e-mails about my nomination have been pretty nasty.

I’ve been called a monster … an idiot of a human being … even a liberal lawyer.

I can take it. In more than 30 years in elected office, I’ve been called worse.

But when someone wrote that …

I got really mad.

One particular e-mail sums up the main misperceptions about me.

It reads:

Now, the likable part, I’ll leave to your judgment.

But if a background in hunting and fishing is a prerequisite for the job of DEC Commissioner, I’m

as likely as they come.

There seems to be a mistaken impression that I’m some city slicker who has never been in the

woods and wouldn’t know a bobcat if one jumped up and bit me in the face.

But I didn’t grow up in New York City. I grew up in farming country in Michigan.

As I was growing up, I regularly went hunting with my father and brothers in Michigan, Illinois

and later in Maryland.

We shot quail, pheasants, duck and geese. I hunted deer with a bow. And like most of you, we

ate what we killed.

Some of my best memories of time with my father are from that time. I can still see the look of

pride on his face when I bagged a buck with my bow.

My love of the outdoors remains to this day. Many weekends in the spring, summer and fall

you’ll find me thigh-deep in the Ausable River, the Esopus Creek or streams in the Western

Catskills with my fly-rod.

I fly fish. I canoe. I white water raft. I camp. I hike.

That’s who I am. I love the outdoors, just like you, and I understand why you are passionate

about hunting and fishing.

And for those of you who point to a tiny handful of my bills over 30 years in the Assembly and

think of me as opposed to hunting, please remember this:

As an Assemblyman, my responsibility has been to represent the interests of the people who

my ability.

As Commissioner of DEC, my job – and my mission – will be to represent all of New York’s 19

million residents – and that includes the hunters and anglers in this room and across the state

who truly understand how important it is to conserve our precious land and protect wildlife

habitats.

And when it comes to environmental policy, I think we agree on far more than we disagree.

space in the world and that the fight to protect and preserve it is the most important fight there

is.

natural resources continue to be available for recreational use by all New Yorkers — and that

certainly includes hunters and anglers.

important environmental policy decisions are made – and that certainly includes the NYSCC.

These are the beliefs that will define and guide my actions as a member of the Spitzer

Administration’s Environmental Team.

* * *

We’re already on our way.

expand hunting and fishing opportunities throughout New York while safeguarding the

environment for generations to come.

Through the Spitzer Outdoor Agenda …

supporting legislation to encourage private land owners to open their property for hunting,

fishing and other outdoor recreation without fear of lawsuits … creating new fishing access

sites, boat launches and hiking trails across the state … and promoting a new open-space

protection initiative which will create new greenways and connecting trails that will make it

easier for people to spend time outdoors.

fishing licenses and replenishing the Conservation Fund …and giving our fish hatcheries a longneeded

upgrade.

exact a heavy toll on lakes and ponds in the Adirondacks, Catskills and the Hudson Highlands

… and we’ll fully enforce the State Environmental Quality Review Act to ensure habitat

protection.

regulations to control the transfer of ballast water by large ships … and to ensure the safety of

New York’s fish, we’ll work with the Department of Health to update fish consumption advisories

to help ensure that New Yorkers do not consume fish contaminated with PCBs, mercury and

other toxins.

And as part of the Governor’s Agenda, we’ll work to pass legislation to better protect vital

natural areas, including wetlands.

outdoor activities throughout the state … and putting forward a detailed financial plan to

upgrade DEC campgrounds in the coming year.

* * *

It’s an ambitious agenda focused on protecting and preserving New York’s land, water and air

while expanding New Yorkers’ access to our state’s spectacular natural places.

Eliot Spitzer has shown an extraordinary commitment to the environment through the last eight

years. As Attorney General he carried out historic and unprecedented legal actions against the

Federal Government, suing the Bush administration 17 times to block its attempts to undermine

and dismantle our environmental protection laws.

And his Outdoor Agenda makes it clear that Governor Spitzer will be a determined trailblazer for

the environment.

I’m excited to have a chance to walk that trail with him as part of an administration that not only

values and prioritizes New York’s natural resources – but pursues proactive policies to ensure

their future.

This is a seminal moment in our state’s history.

The choices we make over the next few years will go far in determining the kind of state we

leave to our children and their children after them. We must leave a worthy legacy.

ideas, opinions and respect between DEC and all of you.

My role in the partnership will be to be a tireless advocate for the environment, a true friend to

the hunters and anglers who have a personal stake in achieving our conservation goals, and an

open-minded hands-on commissioner committed to fairly balancing the competing interests.

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The truth is, hunters and urban conservationists need each other, and I’m going to work hard to

strengthen that alliance.

The writer Sara Payson Willis Parton wrote in her book “A Trip to the Catskills” in 1872:

All of us in this room have experienced the awesome quiet of a forest glen, the peace of a

river’s edge, and the beauty of a mountain ridge at sunset. We’re bound by those experiences.

We know what’s at stake.

Let’s remember that in the days and weeks ahead.

Now if you’ll excuse me, my TOFU is getting cold.