I find it amusing how false rumors start and spread, and those that you may hear regarding the outdoors are no different. Take, for example, when coyote populations and range (also called brush wolves and coydogs) first started expanding in the state. Rumors were flying that the NYS Conservation Department, at the request of auto insurance companies, was "stocking" them to help control the abundant deer that were creating too many car-deer accidents.

A few decades later, it was mountain lions that were being stocked by the State, again to help control overabundant deer herds. This year, the rumor making the rounds involves all the oversized houseflies that are so numerous. Again, the credit is being attributed to the State, releasing them via helicopters to help control the bumper crop of forest tent caterpillars that are munching the leaves from our area's trees this year.