As part of its weeklong celebration of Earth Day, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation announced the opening a new public access fishing site along Chittenango Creek in the town of Cazenovia.

State and local officials, as well as representatives of a local sportsman’s group, joined DEC Region 7 Director Ken Lynch Thursday morning, April 24, to officially open the site, which is located on Route 13 one mile south of the village.

“This section of Chittenango Creek presents excellent fishing opportunities for anglers of all skills and abilities,” Lynch said. “There’s a lot of good things going on statewide [for sportsmen] … there’s a lot of opportunity out there [and] we want to foster more outdoor activity and recreation in the state.”

“This is a wonderful addition to Cazenovia,” said Cazenovia Town Supervisor Bill Zupan, who attended the event. “It gives sportsmen another outlet to fish in Chittenango Creek.”

The new fishing access site offers parking for six vehicles, a 100-yard path to the creek and encompasses a half-mile of public fishing rights on both sides of the stream. Part of the stream bank has trees and bushes, while another part is open grassland.

“It’s one of the nicer sections of stream I’ve seen in quite a long time,” Lynch said.

The DEC purchased the site from the Cazenovia Preservation Foundation last year, using funds from the State Environmental Protection Fund, according to the agency.

Chittenango Creek is a swift-flowing trout stream with abundant wild and stocked fish. The DEC stocks the creek annually with more than 14,000 one-year-old brown trout and approximately 1,900 two-year-old brown trout, according to DEC information.

Members of Madison County Trout Unlimited Chapter 680, whose home water is Chittenango Creek, have been helping the DEC stock the creek for about five years, said member Lee Cameron, one of many Chapter 680 members who were on hand for the grand opening event.

“This new site is great to have because it’s an area we haven’t fished much because it is hard to park along the highway and there’s been no good walking access to the water,” said Chapter 680 member Jim Longstaff, who also attended the event.

Cameron and Longstaff pointed out good places to fish along the creek and told some fishing stories to State Senator David Valesky who attended the event along with State Assemblyman Bill Magee.

“It was a banner year for sportsmen [in New York state],” said Valesky, referring to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s “New York Open for Hunting and Fishing Initiative,” which includes streamlining hunting and fishing licenses, reducing license fees and improving access for hunting and fishing opportunities throughout the state. “I encourage all Madison County and Central new York anglers to come and enjoy this site. It is a great new opportunity in Cazenovia,” Valesky said.

For information and maps about public fishing rights and locations in Central New York, visit the DEC website at dec.ny.gov/outdoor/44869.html. To learn more about Trout Unlimited Chapter 680, visit their website at tu680.org or call Lee Cameron at 655-0304.

Jason Emerson is editor of the Cazenovia Republican. He can be reached at [email protected].