The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) Division of Law Enforcement enforces the 71 chapters of New York State’s Environmental Conservation Law (ECL), protecting fish and wildlife and preserving environmental quality across New York. In 1880, the first eight Game Protectors proudly began serving to protect the natural resources and people of New York State. In 2024, the Division of Law Enforcement fielded more than 105,717 calls, resulting in Environmental Conservation Police Officers (ECOs) and Investigators across the state responding to more than 30,109 complaints and working on cases that resulted in 15,755 tickets or arrests for violations ranging from deer poaching to solid waste dumping, illegal mining, the illegal pet trade, and excessive emissions violations.

“DEC Environmental Conservation Police Officers (ECOs) and Investigators protect New York’s air, water, wildlife, and public safety, while also working to connect New Yorkers with the outdoors,” Acting Commissioner Amanda Lefton said. “As we tackle environmental threats on all fronts, I applaud the critical work DEC’s ECOs and Investigators are undertaking to enforce New York’s Environmental Conservation Law and ensure a cleaner, greener, safer, and more resilient New York State.”

Multi-Regional Investigation Leads to Poaching Penalty – Greene County

A Queens County man recently appeared in court and paid a penalty for illegal deer hunting in Greene County last year following a months-long investigation involving ECOs, a Bureau of Environmental Crimes Investigator, and K9 Unit from three DEC regions.   

On Dec. 7, 2024, Region 4 ECO Palmateer responded to a trespass complaint in the town of Catskill. The complainant reported hearing gun shots near his residence and claimed to witness a subject fire a shot at a wounded doe. The complainant said he confronted the subject, who then fled into the woods. Officer Palmateer arrived at the location, found the deceased doe, and determined the alleged trespasser likely discharged a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling without permission from the owner, which is unlawful.  

Through an investigation, the Officer identified a possible subject from Queens who did not possess a Deer Management Permit for the wildlife management unit where he was hunting, precluding him from legally harvesting an antlerless deer. The next day, ECO Palmateer contacted Lieutenant Macropoulos and ECO Swart in Queens County (DEC Region 2) to interview the subject. The man admitted to shooting at the doe four times, as initially reported, but claimed he was not sure how far away he was from the residence when he fired.  

On Dec. 9, 2024, ECO Palmateer contacted ECO Wood and his K9 partner CJ to help find shot components at the alleged shooting location. Officer Wood and CJ found four spent shotgun slug shells, along with other evidence consistent with the statement given by the subject. Each shell was located within 500 feet of a dwelling. 

On Jan. 12, 2025, Investigator Sulkey re-interviewed the subject in Ulster County and during the interview, he admitted the shotgun shells belonged to him. ECO Palmateer charged the subject with discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling (four counts), the illegal take of a white-tailed deer, and taking an antlerless deer without a Deer Management Permit, all misdemeanors. 

The subject answered the charges in the Town of Catskill Court on Feb. 13, and paid a total fine of $702.50.  

Bear Cub and Hunter – Greene County

On March 15, employees at Hunter Mountain resort in the town of Hunter contacted DEC to report a bear cub along the Madison Square ski trail. Resort employees managed to get the bear off the trail and into nearby woods. ECOs Milliron and Palmateer responded to the location and discovered the cub hiding in tall grass adjacent to the ski trail. The cub appeared malnourished and dehydrated, and was moving slowly with no mother in sight. The Officers contacted Friends of the Feathered and Furry (FFF) Wildlife Center in the town of Hunter for assistance and together managed to safely catch the cub as it unsuccessfully attempted to climb a small tree. The cub, believed to be more than a year old and weighing only 15 pounds, was transported to the rehab center where it will receive care until healthy enough to be released back into the wild. FFF reports that the young bear is improving and now weighs approximately 21 pounds.

Dave Loverde of FFF Wildlife Center (left) and ECO Milliron (right) with injured bear cub rescued from Hunter Mountain (photo attached)

Bear cub recovers at Friends of the Feathered and Furry Wildlife Center (photo attached)

Canoe Overturned – Franklin County

On the evening of March 19, a paddler flagged down ECO Hovey for assistance after overturning a canoe in the Saranac River near Bloomingdale. The cold and wet paddler declined medical attention and reported his canoeing partner was still somewhere downstream. ECO Hovey located the second paddler and transported the pair and a dog back to shore safely to warm up and change into dry clothing. The submerged canoe could not be retrieved.

High water levels of the Saranac River due to spring runoff in Franklin County (photo attached)

Not Your Average Easter Egg Hunt – Rockland County

On March 31, ECO Steffen responded to reports of a resident in the town of Haverstraw throwing rocks at Canada geese and potentially disturbing a goose nest. Officer Steffen arrived at the location and observed a large egg resting in a flowerpot next to the front door of a residence. The homeowner stated she utilized rocks and a laser to harass geese on her property. ECO Steffen warned the subject that Canada geese are a state- and federally protected species and throwing rocks at the birds in a potentially injurious manner is unlawful. The Officer recommended multiple legal methods of keeping nuisance geese away from the property, including applying for a Resident Canada Goose Registration for legal nest and egg removal or contacting a local Nuisance Wildlife Control Operator. The property owner admitted to destroying a nest and identified the potted egg as the only one removed from the nest. ECO Steffen issued tickets to the homeowner for unlawful take of a migratory bird out of season and hunting without a license.

Apparent Canada goose egg in a flowerpot at Rockland County residence (photo attached)

Statewide Fishing Compliance Checks – Bronx/Delaware/Rockland/Westchester Counties

A hot bite leads to a bad night for one angler in Westchester County, anglers in Delaware County are accused of trespassing for trout, and ECOs and federal partners uncover something fishy at a Bronx County fish market. These stories and more are in this week’s statewide ECO fishing compliance checks:  

• Striped bass season opened on April 1, and those fish caught in the Hudson River and tributaries north of the George Washington Bridge during the season may only be kept if they are between 23 inches and 28 inches long. When fishing with bait for striped bass, anglers must use a non-offset circle hook. On March 21, ECO Tompkins observed an angler near Crawbuckie Park in the town of Ossining, Westchester County, catch and keep at least four striped bass in less than 10 minutes, a week and a half before the April 1 season opener. Officer Tompkins quickly moved in after witnessing the illegal activity from a distance and discovered a large black garbage bag filled with 23 out-of-season striped bass. The ECO worked quickly to release fish likely to survive back into the water and issued six tickets to the angler, including one for 23 counts of possessing fish during the closed season, targeting fish during the closed season, failure to use non-offset circle hooks for striped bass, fishing without a license, failure to carry a marine registry, and the illegal take/possession of fish. The fish that did not survive were donated.
  

• On March 21, ECOs Farner and Pansini, members of the DEC Division of Law Enforcement Marine Enforcement Unit, partnered with members of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Law Enforcement to conduct joint inspections of vendors at the Fulton Fish Market in the Bronx, one of the oldest and largest seafood wholesalers in the nation. The operation resulted in the discovery of multiple violations of New York’s Environmental Conservation Law. Officers confiscated 48 undersized black sea bass (legal commercial size 11 inches), four undersized fluke (legal commercial size 14 inches), and one oversized striped bass (legal commercial size 26-38 inches) during the patrol. They issued tickets for the various commercial marine violations, returnable to Bronx County Criminal Court.

• On March 29, ECOs Falkengren and Steffen received a tip from a concerned resident in the town of Haverstraw, Rockland County, regarding an individual stashing fish in a vehicle near the Hudson River. Officer Falkengren responded to the location and identified a vehicle and anglers matching the complainant’s description. A brief investigation and interviews led the ECO to confiscate two illegally caught striped bass and issue tickets to an angler for the illegal take of striped bass out of season, unlawful possession of fish out of season, unlawful intentional angling for fish species during the closed season, taking of fish contrary to DEC regulations, and failure to use a non-offset circle hook for striped bass.

• On April 1, opening day of trout harvest season, ECOs Doig and Osborne conducted fishing compliance checks along the Delaware River during routine patrols and observed two vehicles parked on private property in the town of Hancock, Delaware County. The Officers were familiar with the property as it frequently draws anglers looking to access the West Branch of the Delaware River. ECOs confirmed with the landowner that the subjects did not have permission to park or fish on the private property and eventually observed a group of five anglers as they exited. The Officers removed six trout caught unlawfully while the anglers allegedly trespassed on posted property and issued a total of 10 tickets to the five fishermen. Each subject received citations for trespassing on posted property and illegally taking trout without landowner permission.
  

Striped bass caught unlawfully in Westchester County (photo attached)

ECOs Farner (left) and Pansini (right) with undersized fish confiscated during fish market patrol in Bronx County (photo attached)

ECO Falkengren with illegally caught striped bass in Rockland County (photo attached)

ECO Osborne with trout caught unlawfully in Delaware County (photo attached)