Fish and Wildlife Day
Saturday, September 28, 2024
Join us for the first ever Fish and Wildlife Day on Saturday, September 28, 2024! DEC, in partnership with State Parks and Parks & Trails New York (PTNY), will host stewardship and educational events across the state to celebrate wildlife conservation and protect New York wildlife. Help plant native species and remove invasive plants to foster healthy wildlife habitat at a nearby State Park, learn how to build and repair bird houses that will benefit species at a Wildlife Management Area, or pair your stewardship efforts with a birding or nature walk that highlights the importance of wildlife conservation.
Gather your friends and family and join your community in helping to preserve and protect New York lands!
Participant registration for Fish and Wildlife Day is now open! Scroll down for event locations and register online at Parks & Trails New York. A limited number of volunteer shirts will be available, first come, first serve, at events offering service projects!
Fish and Wildlife Day is a Love Our New York Lands Stewardship Day event! Check out our other Love Our New York Lands Stewardship Days and see how you can participate in stewardship and conservation year-round.
Find a Fish and Wildlife Day Event Near You!
Long Island
State Parks Event: Hallock State Park Preserve – event hosted in partnership with the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society (AMSEAS)
Time: 10am -12pm
Location: Riverhead, Suffolk County
Project or Educational Event: The Atlantic Marine Conservation Society is holding a beach walk/cleanup at Hallock State Park. Volunteers will receive an educational presentation about marine life, after which they will be given beach cleanup equipment (buckets, pickers, gloves) and led down to the beach to pick up marine debris. During the cleanup they will log the type of debris they collect on a datasheet. After the cleanup they will weigh the debris collected.
All ages welcome! Register at Parks & Trails NY
State Parks Event: Connetquot River State Park Preserve—event hosted in partnership with the Friends of Connetquot
Time: 9am – 12pm
Location: Islip, Suffolk County
Project or Educational Event: After an introductory presentation on invasives and the importance of pollinator gardens, teams will begin on our projects: Removing invasive barberries and phragmites, pollinator garden weeding, garden bed frame and rain barrel builds, clearing invasives at the grist mill, and walkway construction.
All ages welcome! Register at Parks & Trails NY!
State Parks Event: Hempstead Lake State Park Environmental Education and Resiliency Center
Time: 1pm – 3pm
Location: West Hempstead, Nassau County
Project or Educational Event: Join us for a nature hike and litter cleanup!
All ages welcome! Register at Parks & Trails NY!
New York City
DEC Event: Norton Basin Natural Resource Area
Time: 10am – 12pm
Location: Far Rockaway, Queens
Project or Educational Event: Beach cleanup and coastal birding.
Appropriate for ages 13 and up. Register at Parks & Trails NY!
State Parks Event: Gantry Plaza State Park – event hosted in partnership with the Friends of Gantry Plaza State Park
Time: 10am -12pm
Location: Hunters Point, Long Island City
Project or Educational Event: Community volunteer gardening day to support Gantry Plaza State Park's plants, which help protect the waterfront.
All ages welcome! Register at Parks & Trails NY
State Parks Event: Clay Pit Ponds State Park Preserve
Time: 10am – 12pm
Location: Charleston, Staten Island
Project or Educational Event: Removing Invasive Species along horse trails.
Appropriate for ages 13 and up. Register Here!
Taconic/Palisades
Taconic Region
State Parks Event: Little Stony Point—event hosted in partnership with the Little Stony Point Citizens Association
Time: 10am – 1pm
Location: Cold Spring, Putnam County
Project or Educational Event: We will plant a pollinator garden, remove invasive species and provide instruction on building wildlife habitats.
All ages welcome! Register at Parks & Trails NY!
State Parks Event: Ann Odell Memorial Butterfly Garden at Hubbard Lodge in Fahnestock State Park – event hosted in partnership with the Friends of Fahnestock and Hudson Highlands State Parks
Time: 10am – 3pm
Location: Carmel, Putnam County
Project or Educational Event: Continue work to expand beds in the existing pollinator garden. Activities will include building new beds and weeding existing beds.
Appropriate for ages 13 and up. Register at Parks & Trails NY!
Palisades Region
State Parks Event: Minnewaska State Park Preserve
Time: 12:00pm – 2:00pm
Location: Kerhonkson, Ulster County
Project or Educational Event: This event will mainly focus on wildlife education. There may be some light trash clean up near the Nature Center.
All ages welcome! Register at Parks & Trails NY!
DEC Event: Congers Lake
Time: 9am – 3pm
Location: Congers, Rockland County
Project or Educational Event: Free fishing day! All equipment is supplied free by DEC. Learn how to fish, try your hand at archery, and learn about wilderness survival from biologists, environmentalists, hunters, archers, fishermen, trappers and more.
This is an open house event. For more information, check out https://nhfday.org/event/congers-lake-nhf-day-event/. All ages welcome!
Capitol Region/Northern Catskills
DEC Event: Doodletown Wildlife Management Area
Time: 10am – 2pm
Location: Towns of Ancram, Taghkanic and Gallatin, Columbia County
Project or Educational Event: Mechanical removal of invasive species (e.g., honeysuckle, Japanese barberry, autumn olive, multiflora rose).
All ages welcome! Register at Parks & Trails NY!
State Parks Event: Johnson Hall State Historic Site – event hosted in partnership with the Friends of Johnson Hall
Time: 9am – 1pm
Location: Johnstown, Fulton County
Project or Educational Event: Join a State Parks Biologist to utilize natural techniques to restore the bank of Hall Creek at Johnson Hall State Historic Site. Participants will assist Park staff in placing downed branches and logs along the banks to help reduce erosion and enhance the creek. All work will take place along the creek, in difficult terrain. Capable volunteers should be able to help lift potentially heavy branches and logs in this terrain, but there will be opportunities for those not as capable of lifting heavier loads.
Appropriate for ages 13 and up. Register at Parks & Trails NY!
State Parks Event: Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site—event hosted in partnership with the Friends of Schoharie Crossing
Time: 9am – 1pm
Location: Fort Hunter, Montgomery County
Project or Educational Event: Many of the stonework walls associated with the Erie Canal are become covered with weeds. Overtime, if not routinely and properly removed, these artifacts will become unobservable and under appreciated by our visitors. Additionally, plant growth on stonework can cause significant damage. As a historic site dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of Erie Canal history, we invite you to help us maintain the stonework while enjoying the beauty and history of the Erie Canal Corridor.
All ages welcome! Register at Parks & Trails NY!
State Parks Event: Max V Shaul State Park
Time: 9am – 1pm
Location: Fultonham, Schoharie County
Project or Educational Event: Trail work/cleanup, tree planting, and campsite cleanup.
All ages welcome! Register at Parks & Trails NY!
Saratoga/Adirondacks
No events scheduled at this time. Check out events in the Taconic/Palisades, Capitol Region/Northern Catskills, and Thousand Islands areas for event listings closest to this location.
Thousand Islands
State Parks Event: Point Au Roche State Park
Time: 10am – 12pm
Location: Plattsburgh, Clinton County
Project or Educational Event: Join us for a guided walk to look for and celebrate the wonderful wildlife we have in the park, then stay for a clean-up project to help protect the wildlife in Deep Bay!
All ages welcome! Register at Parks & Trails NY
State Parks Event: Sackets Harbor Battlefield State Historic Site—event hosted in partnership with the Sackets Harbor Battlefield Alliance. Inc.
Time: 10am – 2pm
Location: Sackets Harbor, Jefferson County
Project or Educational Event: Period landscape enhancement in the 1860's historic Navy Yard. Come see the Sackets Harbor historic site's diverse battlegrounds landscapes, open fields, shoreline, memorial tree grove, and offshore island wetland.
All ages welcome! Register at Parks & Trails NY!
Central New York
DEC Event: Carpenter’s Brook Fish Hatchery—event hosted in partnership with the Onondaga County Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs
Time: Saturday (9/28) 11am – 5pm and Sunday (9/29) 11am – 5pm
Location: Elbridge, Onondaga County
Project or Educational Event: Demonstrations including fishing, trapping, hunting, cooking, orienteering, birds of prey, fly tying, game calling, taxidermy and more.
This is an open house event. For more information, check out the Onondaga County Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs. All ages welcome!
DEC Event: Salmon River Fish Hatchery 25th Annual Open House
Time: 9am – 3pm
Location: Altmar, Oswego County
Project or Educational Event: Celebrate National Hunting & Fishing Day at the 25th annual Salmon River Fish Hatchery Open House! Come on a guided tour of the hatchery to learn about fish culture, sustainable fishing practices, and rare and threatened fish species in New York State. Several conservation organizations, fishing and hunting clubs, and outdoor recreation groups will be on hand with displays and activities to provide information about their role in the Salmon River Corridor and the Lake Ontario ecosystem.
This is an open house event. All ages welcome!
State Parks Event: Taughannock Falls State Park—event hosted in partnership with the Friends of Recreation Conservation and Environmental Stewardship (FORCES)
Time: 1pm – 3pm
Location: Trumansburg, Tompkins County
Project or Educational Event: Eastern hemlocks are keystone species that protect the steep slopes and waters of Taughannock Falls State Park. They are threatened by an invasive pest called the Hemlock Wooly Adelgid (HWA). Join FORCES Program Specialist, Carlin Shew, in learning how to identify HWA and get hands-on experience collecting HWA density and canopy health data of our trees. Participants will explore the Gorge Trail (1.8-mile out-and-back) all the way to the falls, stopping at hemlock trees to collect data. On the way back, participants will learn about the natural history of Taughannock Falls State Park.
Appropriate for ages 13 and up. Register at Parks & Trails NY!
Western Finger Lakes/Genesee Area
DEC Event: High Tor Wildlife Management Area—event hosted in partnership with the Naples Trail Collective
Time: 9am – 12pm
Location: Naples, Ontario County
Project or Educational Event: Participants will assist with improving forest habitat adjacent to Naples Creek, including cutting invasive vines that are smothering mature trees, cutting invasive shrubs from around young trees, and installing tubes and cages onto young trees to protect them from deer browse. Additional activities will include litter clean-up and trail maintenance (cutting overhanging branches and picking up fallen branches).
Appropriate for ages 13 and up. Register at Parks & Trails NY!
DEC Event: Seneca Meadows Wetlands Preserve/Montezuma Audubon Society—event hosted in partnership with the Friends of the Montezuma Wetlands Complex
Time: 9am – 1pm
Location: Seneca Falls, Seneca County
Project or Educational Event: Volunteer with Audubon and NYS DEC for a day of native seed collection at Seneca Meadows Wetland Preserve. The collected seed will be used to help restore native habitat. All supplies will be provided. Afterwards, join us for lunch provided by the Friends of the Montezuma Wetlands Complex. We will meet at the Seneca Meadows Wetland Preserve (1712 Black Brook Rd, Seneca Falls, NY 13148). If you have any questions, please email [email protected] or call (315) 365-3588.
All ages welcome! Register via the following link: Fish & Wildlife Day - Montezuma
State Parks Event: Hamlin Beach State Park—event hosted in partnership with the Friends of Hamlin Beach State Park
Time: 10am – 12pm
Location: Hamlin, Monroe County
Project or Educational Event: The day will be broken down into two parts. 1. The first part will involve trail maintenance throughout the park. This will involve pruning and chipping of two or three trails. We may also be planting some native plants. The volunteers will be split up to do this work. 2. The second part will be a joint group hike put on by our Environmental Educator (Topic TBD).
All ages welcome! Register at Parks & Trails NY!
Western New York
DEC Event: Tom’s Point in the Chautauqua Lake Fish and Wildlife Management Area
Time: 9am – 1pm
Location: Towns of Ellery and North Harmony, Chautauqua County
Project or Educational Event: The group will conduct basic trail maintenance along the foot trail, maintain bluebird and wood duck nest boxes, and inspect/maintain existing tree tubes on the Wildlife Management Area.
Appropriate for ages 13 and up. Register at Parks & Trails NY!
