In the past, the Federated Sportsmen's Clubs of Jefferson County was an active organization. Its membership, which included representatives from a wide variety of fish and game, fur harvester, shooting sports and other clubs interested in conservation or recreation in the outdoors worked to enhance, protect and perpetuate fish and wildlife resources, the habitats that support them and the recreational opportunities that these offer.

These groups espouse a common goal that current and future generations may continue to enjoy and to use our wide diversity of natural resources both within our county and across our state.

For more than five years now, the Federated Sportsmen's Clubs of Jefferson County has been inactive. This means that natural resource conservation and important related activities such as hunting, fishing and trapping have had little or no voice of support from the county's organized sportsmen and women. Given that the population of Jefferson County has significantly grown over that same time frame, the need for a federation is all the more important.

Fish and wildlife managers often rely on county federations for input on management planning and for getting the word out locally to the hunting and fishing public about new fish and wildlife initiatives. In addition, when a sportsmen's federation belongs to the New York State Conservation Council Inc., its voice is enhanced through the statewide organization which can comment directly to Albany on outdoor sporting issues, including the promoting of legislation.

As both the local wildlife manager for the Department of Environmental Conservation and a Jefferson County sportsman, I would like to encourage the county's sportsmen and women who are active at the club level to consider stepping up as club representatives at the federation level.

I would be happy to collect names and contact information from anyone who is interested and then facilitate a means for those individuals to meet and get the work started. I can be reached at 785-2261 or by mail at NYS DEC, Bureau of Wildlife, Dulles State Office Building, Fifth Floor, 317 Washington St., Watertown, N.Y. 13601.

I look forward to hearing from sportsmen and women who are willing to volunteer for the cause of environmental conservation.

William H. Gordon

Watertown

The writer is regional wildlife manager for DEC Region 6, Watertown.