Be Air Aware. 📢 Check the latest Air Quality Index (AQI) forecast: extapps.dec.ny.gov/cfmx/extapps...

DEC experts are forecasting good air quality levels across New York State today, but temporary spikes in pollution not unusual with some winter weather patterns may occur over the weekend in the New York City Metro and other areas.

Note that it is still hunting season, and many public lands allow hunting. Make sure you wear bright colors like orange and red. Be sure to plan ahead and prepare for your day by checking a location’s specific rules or details before you go.

Although it might be easy to remember that toms have beards and spurs, it’s important not to completely rule out that hens can also have beards and spurs. Less than 10% of the female turkey population have a beard, and less than 1% have spurs.

📷: Dori Stathopoulos

Hens, on the other hand, are smaller, weighing up to 12 lbs. They have a rusty-brown body, a blue-gray head, and typically do not grow a beard or spurs.

📷: Susan Dornan

Toms are about 2.5 ft. tall and weigh up to 25 lbs. They have red, white, and blue skin on their heads during breeding season (springtime) and they grow a long beard of hair-like feathers on their chests, and spurs on their legs that can be from 0.5 inches - 1.5 inches long.

For more information, head to our website: on.ny.gov/adpostercont...

For details on these and other recent ECO stories, head to this week's Environmental Conservation Police Officers on Patrol: on.ny.gov/49zMnSM

And while on patrol in the Town of Johnstown, ECO Pasciak recently saw a dog running loose in the roadway. The Officer stopped and was able to safely get the dog into his patrol vehicle, then drove around looking for the owner. After a while, the owner was located and reunited with their dog, Jack.

ECO Scheer, a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, and the Niagara County Technical Rescue Team were able to hoist the deer from the well and release it safely, without incident. To prevent future incidents like this one, the well was covered after the deer was rescued.

For full details on these and other recent Ranger stories, check out this week's DEC Forest Rangers Week in Review: on.ny.gov/4oUjftN.

Also, on the morning of Oct. 29, Rangers Dormer and Raffaldi-Smith responded to a wildland fire near Clement Road. Rangers and the Naples Fire Department had the fire controlled later that afternoon. The cause was an unextinguished, unattended campfire. The next day, Rangers declared the fire out.

State, federal, and community leaders will detail how working together will help continue the transition to clean energy and protect clean air and water in the face of federal headwinds.

Each year, DEC partners with @feedingnys.bsky.social to facilitate the donation of 50k-70k lbs of venison from deer harvested by hunters to those in need. Don’t have a deer to donate? Consider making a donation online or when purchasing your hunting license: dec.ny.gov/regulatory/p...