New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Interim Commissioner Sean Mahar today announced upcoming academies for the newest classes of Forest Rangers and Environmental Conservation Police Officers (ECOs). The six-month training academies will prepare 58 of DEC's newest recruits for careers protecting New York's natural resources in the Divisions of Forest Protection and Law Enforcement.
“With new academies on the horizon, DEC is continuing to grow the ranks of New York’s elite force of individuals committed to protecting our environment and public safety,” Interim Commissioner Mahar said. “DEC’s newest ECOs and Rangers will receive rigorous training to prepare them to meet the environmental challenges of today and tomorrow as they continue to uphold the rich and storied conservation legacies of both divisions.”
ECOs, originally called Game Protectors, were first appointed for service in 1880. The first Forest Rangers, originally known as Fire Wardens, were put into service in 1885 when the New York State Legislature established the Forest Preserve of New York State.
The Forest Ranger training starts May 19 at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY ESF) campus in the hamlet of Wanakena. The ECO training begins June 2 at the Pulaski Academy, which has served as the home for these trainings for the last several academies.
ECO job duties are centered on the 71 chapters of New York State Environmental Conservation Law and range from deer poaching to solid waste dumping, illegal mining, the black market pet trade, and emissions violations. In 2023, ECOs and Investigators across the state responded to nearly 31,000 calls and worked on cases that resulted in nearly 16,900 tickets or arrests.
DEC Division of Law Enforcement Director Karen Przyklek said, “In many ways ECOs are the guardians of our environment, enforcing New York’s stringent environmental conservation laws protecting our air, water, fish, and wildlife. I am eager to welcome our next class of recruits and challenge them to put in the hard work and dedication required to become a member of our elite group of Officers who work diligently, around the clock, to safeguard our natural resources and hold polluters accountable.”
Forest Ranger duties focus on the public's use of DEC-administered State lands and easements and can span from patrolling State properties to conducting search-and-rescue operations to fighting wildland fires. In 2023, DEC Forest Rangers conducted 370 search and rescue missions, extinguished 146 wildfires, participated in 52 prescribed fires that served to rejuvenate more than 1,000 acres, and worked on cases that resulted in hundreds of tickets or arrests.
DEC Division of Forest Protection Director John Solan said, "Forest Rangers are among the most prepared wilderness professionals in the country, patrolling more than five million acres of land. They respond to rescue calls at all hours of the day or night and stand at the ready to extinguish wildland fires wherever they’re burning. Forest Rangers do all of this, plus law enforcement, all while protecting New York’s natural resources."
ECOs and Forest Rangers are full-fledged New York State Police Officers, often called upon to support critical police deployments. Forest Rangers and ECOs were among the first responders on the scene to help in the aftermath of Sept. 11, assisted in the response to Superstorm Sandy, helped in the 2015 search for two escaped felons from the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, supported New York's statewide response to COVID-19 at testing and vaccination sites, and have traveled to battle wildfires in western states and Canada. Upon graduation, recruits will be assigned patrol areas and join the ranks of hundreds of ECOs and Forest Rangers currently serving across the state.
The recruits in this newest class will be selected from an eligible list of qualifications and passing scores generated from the most recent Civil Service exam, which became active in December 2022. To view job qualifications for ECOs, visit the Environmental Conservation Police Officer job description webpage; for Forest Rangers, visit the Forest Ranger job description webpage.
