July 28, 2016
From NewYorkUpstate.com
DEC officers save bald eagle, ticket illegal burn, nab off-season frog hunter
The following is a sampling of cases Environmental Conservation officers handled in June and early this month.
Frogs and Turtles – Cayuga County
“On the evening of June 4, ECO Mark Colesante was on patrol at the Port Byron DEC boat launch site to check on fishing activity. Colesante observed a man loading a canoe onto a pick-up truck and asked the man if he had been fishing. The man replied that he and his son had not been fishing, but instead, they had been frog hunting on a back channel of the Seneca River.
The man proceeded to show Colesante eight dead bullfrogs in a cooler in the back of his truck. Colesante also observed three live painted turtles crawling around in the bed of the pick-up. The man explained that his son wanted to keep the turtles as pets. ECO Colesante informed the man that frog season does not open until June 15 and there is no season on painted turtles because they are protected. He went on to further explain that frogs are currently in the process of mating and turtles are currently laying eggs. ECO Colesante issued the man a ticket for taking frogs out of season and issued him a warning notice for taking the protected turtles.
The frogs were taken as evidence and the three turtles were returned to the Seneca River.”