The Rattlesnake Hill Wildlife Management Area is a 5,100 acre upland tract, situated approximately eight miles west of Dansville, New York. Roughly two-thirds of the area lies in southern Livingston County, while the remaining third lies in northern Allegany County. The tract was purchased in the 1930’s under the Federal Resettlement Administration and is one of several such areas turned over to DEC for development as a wildlife management area.
The area is appropriately named after the Timber Rattlesnake, which may be occasionally found in the more remote sections of the “Hill”.
The area offers an interesting blend of upland habitats such as mature woodland, overgrown fields, conifer plantations, old growth apple orchards and open meadows.
The area is inhabited by a variety of game species and is open to public hunting. The white-tailed deer, wild turkey, ruffed grouse, grey squirrel, cottontail rabbit and woodcock are found on the area. An occasional snowshoe hare may be observed adjacent to thick creek bottom brush or conifer plantation habitats.
A number of small marsh units have been developed and provide limited hunting for waterfowl. Some of the area’s furbearing species such as mink, beaver and raccoon may be occasionally viewed at these marsh units.
I am opposed to the notion of “rescue” pets and “shelters” that animal rights extremists have put forward lately. While I believe there should be a market for “used” and “salvage” pets like dogs and cats, I think the reason we should be “saving” unwanted or “stray” pets is not because they are cute or lovable, but because a “bred” pet involves a significant amount of labor and food to raise to become something that can be sold as a pet by the breeder.
So called “rescue” pets are usually a lot more affordable then “bred” pets. Not everybody can afford an expensive “bred” pet from a pet breeder. The “used” or “rescue” pet should be an affordable alternative, one that often comes house-broken or trained with skills not available on the “bred” market. Salvaging a used or stray dog and cat, should not be seen as a noble act, but one done to recover all the value and investment in that dog or cat. Shelters should not be seen as a shelters, but as salvage yards, there to recover useful value in the stock, rather then an entity to “save” a pet, for which there is an inexhaustible supply.
Dogs and cats are inherently reproducible. Dogs and cats not neutered have puppies and kittens. They can have lots of them. After all, they are livestock, they can be indefinitely bred to produce to future stock. There is skill in raising them, there are materials consumed to produce future generations of pets, but for all practical purposes, the supply of dogs and cats will never be used up. If anything, there is an over-supply of pets in parts of the country, with undesirable and unwanted pets in need of disposal.
Disposal of unwanted pets can be done in an environmentally sustainable fashion. In a landfill, they are organic material which is unlikely to release hazardous materials, except the normal organics like methane and organic leachate into the environment. The same is true with incineration of unwanted pets – they are made up almost entirely of water and carbon-based organics like fat, muscle, and hair – and incinerated a proper temperatures are unlikely to produce much besides carbon dioxide and water vapor. Most pets are carnivores, which poses more problems with composting, but most industrial composting facilities reach temperatures to kill off pathogens. Obviously, with our carbon constrained future, industrial composting of waste pets is the best solution for disposal.
Salvaging “waste” pets like dogs and cats, through so-called rescues makes sense, in so far as the pet has value. It saves resources to put a well-behaved, house broken but “unadopted” dog or a cat in a loving home, saving resources compared to raising a new dog or cat. It makes pet ownership more affordable for the working man. Salvage efforts through rescues, save energy, save human labor, save food, medicine, and other resources. But the disposal of unwanted pets with behavioral problems or injuries, that offer little value in resale, often makes sense as unwanted pets pose little ecological hazard in their disposal.
“So the people of the valley
Sent a message up the hill,
Asking for the buried treasure
Tons of gold for which they’d kill.
Came the answer from the kingdom,
With our brothers we will share,
All the riches of the mountain,
All the treasure buried there.
Now the valley cried with anger,
Mount your horses, draw your swords
And they killed the mountain people,
So they won their just rewards
Now they stood before the treasure
On the mountain dark and red
Turned the stone and looked beneath it
Peace on earth, was all it said.
Go ahead and hate your neighbor,
Go ahead and cheat and friend,
Do it in the name of heaven,
You can justify it in the end.
There won’t be any trumpets blowing
Come the judgment day,
On the bloody morning after
One tin soldier rides away.”
I enjoy watching Youtube videos about agriculture and farming, because it’s interesting to see how the land and it’s management come together to produce the food we all eat and enjoy. It’s fun to learn about the technology, the techniques, and the people that make it happen. Many people aren’t aware how technologically advanced agriculture has become, or how much goes into protecting the soils and resources for generations to come.
I mean it’s a good deal… only applied about 7 months ago…. I think its $14 a pay period for unlimited rides but without the express bus and biking to work most days at my suburban office with acres of free parking, not such a good a deal. Worth a try, and I would certainly do it if there was value in the proposition but between biking and driving, hardly a great deal!
The whole bus situation is endlessly frustrating though, since the express bus disappeared. The local bus just doesn’t correspond well with my schedule after you figure in the transfer. And it’s so slow and crowded. I get that there is free parking where I work, but I don’t love driving with traffic – it’s not just the cost of the fuel but also the pain of fighting traffic and cops. Honestly, I can’t wait until mid-February when there is enough daylight to ride my bike both ways to work again.
Moving to my dream state is often a big challenge and a leap into the unknown, one that is fairly far off – I’m committed to New York – saving and investing, working hard in New York while I still have family locally.
But eventually I want to move. I want more freedom to own the guns I want, have fires, burn trash and not have to deal with silliness like plastic bag bans or whatever else the legislature dreams up in the coming years like banning trapping as happened in California. I like my big truck and I want my off grid cabin to be in a place with as much freedom as possible.
But the truth is it’s such a big jump into the unknown. Rural communities are more homogenized than ever before due to centrally produced television stations and social media but moving to a new town with no friends, no job, no place to stay is a big jump into the unknown. Honestly when I do it I will be a lot more financially stable but still its a big leap.
That said, careful planning can help to make the leap smaller. Places like West Virginia and rural Pennsylvania I know fairly well, especially in areas where I regularly camp. They’re a smaller leap. With the internet I can also research local opinions about an area and what folks are saying about it – along with state and local laws enforced or otherwise. I can take a trip out to other states, interview for jobs, and ultimately when I settle there rent for a year before committing to buy land and home as my off-grid property.
When I move I can make it a priority to be socially engaged, join civic organizations and volunteer to make new friends. Join my colleagues out at the bar and when I have my off grid property invite them out there for a bonfire and beers or allow them to hunt the land. Friendship is more important than having that perfect deer in the freezer. I’d probably stay away from politics as I don’t want to alienate potential code enforcement people I need to work with to make my off grid property a reality.
Honestly, I do like the break to something new. Too much of my identity is still tied up with my hometown and my jobs in Albany. While I do good work, when you’ve been around as long as I have there is still a lot of baggage around that’s hard to escape. There are memories and institutions I really would like to put away for good.
I often feel like people are using politics as a way to avoid personal responsibility and not address problems in their own lives and own communities. While I’m sure whoever occupies the White House or the State Capitol or City Hall has some minor bearing on your life, the truth is what you choose to do, the people you choose to associate with and the community you choose to live in has as much larger bearing on your life.
Do vote. It’s a low cost activity that doesn’t take much time. Early voting and absentee voting makes it even easier. In the autumn, spend a Saturday afternoon knocking doors and maybe a weeknight or two making calls. Attend public meetings and protests, be heard. It does make a difference to scream at and put pressure on the politicians, as few do.
But remember, the buck ultimately stops at you, and your life is only as good as you make it.
