by Bea Peterson
On September 19 Ed Sukuskas was honored by the New York State Conservation Council as the 2014 Volunteer Conservationist of the Year. Accompanied by long time friend P.J. Hyde, Sukuskas traveled to Utica to receive the Award. At the same meeting his good friend and fellow sportsman Howard Cushing, Jr. received the Council’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
[private]Sukuskas has been an outdoorsman, sportsman and conservationist his entire life. “It was an awful pleasure to get an award for something you love to do,” he said. He added that the meeting was a great time with many great presentations.
Fortunately, for the sportsman in this area, Sukuskas is great at sharing his vast knowledge and love of the outdoors with others, from kids on up. He is a member of the NYS Regional Wildlife Management Board and a member of the Rensselaer County Conservation Alliance, and he has been President of the Pioneer Fish & Game Club for almost 40 years. He works with Wildlife Management to increase hunting and fishing access points and to improve the surrounding habitat. For 35 years he has assisted DEC with its fish stocking program, particularly when he can involve young people. Sukuskas has been involved in the pheasant raising program for many years. He is very proud of the fact that over the years he and Pioneer Club members like Dick Ogden have built, installed and distributed over 2,000 wood duck boxes all over the County.
At 83 Sukuskas still hunts. He is also an avid trapper. He has been a trapper training instructor for 38 years.[/private]