BY JEFF CHUDZINSKINorth Country This Week

CANTON -- The St. Lawrence County legislature is supporting an initiative in Congress to implement a hunting season on double-breasted cormorants after multiple environmental groups have raised concerns about the impact on area fisheries. 

Legislators unanimously approved a resolution during the Sept. 28 Finance Committee meeting, saying the support of a federal bill follows suit with the Province of Ontario as well. 

Legislator Jim Reagen introduced the resolution during the meeting, saying the birds have had a significant impact on the environment in recent years. 

"All we are doing is asking that we, as Americans, be allowed to do what Canadians are allowed to do just across the river," he said.

Protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the birds are native to the area and encompass large nesting colonies. 

But with nesting comes the displacement of other nesting waterbirds. 

Those impacts can irreparably harm local habitats, especially along the St. Lawrence River, according to New York State Department of Environmental Conservation officials. 

In response, DEC officers have taken mitigating measures to stop the spread, including the use of egg-oiling, nest destruction, hazing and in some cases lethal means to control their spread. 

Reagen said many times the colonies would nest on Canadian islands but in recent years they have moved south seeking refuge after the Canadian government allowed hunting of the birds. 

Reagen said the highly acidic excrement from the thousands of birds has also wreaked havoc on many islands. 

In many cases the excrement has led to significant loss of habitat for other creatures as trees, shrubs and grass have died off. 

He said he grew up on the river and could cast a line to catch any number of small schooling fish, from perch, to bluegill, sunfish and rock bass. 

But cormorants feast on school fishing many times throughout the day, eating one to one-and-a-half pounds per day, per bird. 

Reagen said the sheer volume, coupled with the depths the birds dive to feed, has led to major changes in behavior on fisheries that include the St. Lawrence River, Black Lake and tributaries. 

In cases when cormorants are unable to catch schooling fishing volume, they have been known to eat larger fish as well, including small bass. 

Reagen said if measures aren't taken to curb the numbers of cormorants in the area, the issues that are beginning to take hold could be exacerbated quickly. 

"I think our anglers and those who enjoy the river will tell you that this is a measure that is long overdue," Reagen said.