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 2023, the Division of Law Enforcement fielded more than 101,500 calls, resulting in Environmental Conservation Police Officers (ECOs) and Investigators across the state responding to more than 30,932 complaints and working on cases that resulted in nearly 16,900 tickets or arrests for violations ranging from deer poaching to solid waste dumping, illegal mining, the illegal pet trade, and excessive emissions violations.

 

“Environmental Conservation Police Officers and Investigators serving in DEC’s Division of Law Enforcement are working tirelessly across the state to protect natural resources and public safety while holding poachers and polluters accountable,” DEC Interim Commissioner Sean Mahar said. “DEC looks forward to continuing to work with our local, State, and federal law enforcement partners to ensure compliance with New York’s stringent environmental conservation laws and promote the safe and responsible enjoyment of the outdoors.”

 

Oh, Brother! – Wyoming County

In August, a Wyoming County man pleaded guilty to several charges related to the unlawful taking of deer, ending a months-long investigation. 

 

In January 2024, Lieutenant Ward received an anonymous tip alleging a Silver Springs man had taken more than the legal limit of bucks during the previous (2023) deer season. The complainant suggested several of the bucks were at a local taxidermy shop. Lieutenant Ward and ECO Koepf visited the shop and spoke to the owner who provided detailed records of capes and antlers the subject had dropped off. The subject brought in four antlered deer to be mounted, two with his own tags and two bearing tags from his brother.  

 

The two buck tags bearing the brother’s name indicated each buck was taken on different Tuesdays during the season. Through the investigation, ECOs learned of the brother’s employment, subpoenaed his time and attendance records, and discovered the brother was at work on the Tuesdays in question. Faced with the evidence against him, the brother admitted he had not hunted at all that season and confessed to giving his tags to this brother. 

 

The subject, still defiant, now claimed that he had taken two bucks legally and found the other two dead and decomposing so he had put his brother’s tags on them. Officers debunked that story after executing a search warrant on the subject’s home and cell phone and charged him with two counts of offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree (class E felony), two misdemeanor counts of taking deer over the limit, and two violation counts for accepting tags of another. The brother was also charged with two violation counts of lending tags to another. 

 

The subject pleaded guilty to one count of attempted offering of a false instrument for filing in the second degree (class A misdemeanor), one misdemeanor count of taking deer over the bag limit, and one violation count of accepting tags of another. He paid $905 in fines, fees, and surcharges and surrendered two racks from the deer he took over the limit. The defendant also faces a revocation of his license for up to five years. 

 

ECO Koepf (left) and Lt. Ward (right) with antlers seized during deer poaching investigation in Wyoming County (photo attached)

 

Injured Eagle – Genesee/Erie Counties

On Aug. 28, ECO Laczi received a call from the New York State Thruway Authority requesting assistance with removing an injured bald eagle from the Thruway in the town of LeRoy. Officer Laczi arrived at the location and met with the State Trooper who located the bird. Trooper Delecki distracted the eagle as ECO Laczi carefully covered it with a blanket. The two Officers then secured the eagle’s talons and placed it safely in a pet carrier for transport to Messinger Woods Wildlife Care and Education Center in Holland, Erie County, for treatment. 

 

ECO Laczi transports a bald eagle discovered injured in Genesee County to Messinger Woods Wildlife Care and Education Center in Erie County (photo attached)

 

Highway Shooter – Schuyler County

On Sept. 1, ECO Dalecki responded to reports of an individual shooting at a crow from a motor vehicle in the town of Cayuta. The complainant reportedly heard the shot, followed the vehicle, and provided a description to the Schuyler County Sherriff’s Office and New York State Police, which contacted ECOs to assist. An investigation by law enforcement at the location confirmed the subject had shot at the crow while seated in his vehicle. Officer Dalecki issued four tickets to the subject: two misdemeanors for having a loaded gun in a motor vehicle and shooting from a public highway; and two violations for taking wildlife while in or on a motor vehicle and taking wildlife from a public highway. The fine range is $200-$1,000 for each of the misdemeanors and up to $250 for the violations. All charges are pending in the Town of Cayuta Court. 

 

Roadside Dump – Orange County

On Sept. 2, ECO Boyes received a complaint from New York State Police about an individual dumping garbage bags along Rutgers Creek in Wawayanda. The caller provided a description of the vehicle, driver, and location of approximately 12 bags of garbage dumped along the creek bank and in a ditch opposite the creek. On Sept. 3, Officer Boyes responded to the location and learned town employees had removed the six bags near the creek but six bags remained in the ditch. Officer Boyes went through the remaining bags and discovered rotting food, as well as several receipts, pieces of mail, and even a court receipt from the city of Middletown. Employees with the town of Wawayanda allowed ECO Boyes to check the bags they had collected, and the Officer discovered more information in the trash linking to the same individual identified in the previous search. ECO Boyes located and interviewed the owner of the mail and court receipt. The subject happened to live around the corner from the dump site and matched the description provided by the initial complainant. Officer Boyes charged the subject with two counts of unlawfully disposing solid waste, returnable to the Town of Wawayanda Court.

 

Bags of garbage illegally dumped in Wawayanda, Orange County (photo attached)

 

World Trade Center Remembrance

On Sept. 11, Division of Law Enforcement (DLE) Director Przyklek, Captain Komonchak, and Lieutenant Levanway—all 9/11 World Trade Center first responders—attended the World Trade Center memorial service with DEC Region 2 members in New York City. Director Przyklek wore the names and badge numbers of DLE members who succumbed to 9/11 illnesses, including Lieutenant Paul Adam, Lieutenant David McShane, Investigator Thomas Graham, ECO Stephen Raymond, and ECO Lawrence Cabana. 

 

DLE Director Przyklek (middle), Captain Komonchak (on her left) and Lieutenant Levanway (on her right) attend the World Trade Center Memorial service with DEC Region 2 members in New York City (photo attached)

 

Bear Over Bait – Delaware County

On Sept. 14, ECOs Osborne and Doig, acting on information gathered during the early bear hunting season in southeastern Delaware County, conducted a patrol in Hancock focused on hunters taking black bears over bait. The Officers ventured out early morning and traversed high-elevation terrain toward the first known hunting stand when they heard a gunshot. The ECOs changed course and patrolled toward the sound, documenting evidence of hunting blinds and bait piles along the way. The Officers then discovered a fresh blood trail approximately 10 yards from one of the hunting blinds and a group of hunters nearby. The ECOs approached the hunters; one claimed he had shot at and missed a black bear with his rifle. ECOs Osborne and Doig searched the area and discovered a dead bear near the group. The hunters tried to hide the animal under a pile of leaf litter and debris. Faced with the clear evidence against them, all three subjects admitted to hunting over bait and one admitted the shot heard by the Officers had killed the black bear. The investigation also revealed the shooter purchased a hunting license online and failed to print his tag, which is required to be affixed to the animal immediately upon harvest. ECOs issued a total of eight tickets to the three subjects for the illegal take of bear, hunting over bait, failing to immediately tag bear, and illegally placing bear feed. All tickets are returnable to Hancock Town Court.  

 

ECOs Osborne (left) and Doig (right) with black bear illegally taken in Delaware County (photo attached)

 

Illegal Deer Take – Sullivan County

On Sept. 14, ECO Boyes responded to the Bashakill Wildlife Management Area in Mamakating for reports of a deer shot from a vehicle. Officer Boyes met New York State Police units at the location and assisted with the investigation. A complainant reported seeing the subject placing a gun back in their vehicle but did not witness the shot being fired. ECO Boyes eventually located two subjects in the woods near the vehicle in question and observed hunting equipment inside the truck. Two individuals returned to the vehicle dragging a dead dear within minutes and one of them walked Officer Boyes and the New State Police Troopers to the location where he had shot the animal. Police recovered a spent casing at the location matching the shooter’s rifle. State Police then used a laser rangefinder to determine the distance from which the hunter shot from a nearby residence. Although the subject did not shoot from a vehicle as first reported, he was too close to a residence when he discharged the firearm. ECO Boyes ticketed the hunter for discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling, illegally taking a deer, and failure to properly tag deer. His accomplice was charged with illegally taking a deer for assisting in the efforts. The tickets are returnable to Mamakating Town Court.  

 

Deer taken illegally in Sullivan County (photo attached)

 

Youth Goose Hunt – Madison/Oneida Counties

On Sept. 22, three ECOs and a Lieutenant teamed up with local volunteers to participate in a goose hunt with youth hunters from Madison and Oneida counties. The hunting group harvested a total of 40 geese while afield and then returned to the Cassidy Hollow Rod and Gun Club in Madison for a barbecue. This is the 14th year of this local youth hunt.  

 

For more information on DEC’s mentored youth hunt program, visit the DEC website.  

 

Youth goose hunt in Madison and Oneida counties (photo attached)

 

Statewide Fishing Compliance Checks – Kings/Queens/Suffolk/Nassau/Orange/Sullivan Counties

From bunker busts to nighttime netters, ECOs statewide tackled a variety of cases over the past several weeks as they conducted fishing compliance checks on anglers:    

• On Aug. 15, ECOs Broughton and Veloski from DEC’s Marine Enforcement Unit joined ECOs Farner, Swart, and sector Officers from Staten Island and Queens for a nighttime boat patrol in Jamaica Bay focused on enforcing recreational saltwater regulations and navigation law safety checks. Officers checked several vessels and issued 14 tickets for offenses including possession of undersized black sea bass, porgy, and summer flounder, failure to possess a Marine Fishing Registry, and improper use of navigation lights. All defendants are scheduled to appear in Kings and Queens County Criminal Courts as appropriate. 
  

• During the overnight hours from Aug. 17 to 18, ECOs Pabes and Smith patrolled Long Island’s south shore for fishing activity at locations known for nighttime violations. The Officers began the night conducting surveillance at a busy bridge and noticed a group of subjects taking more than the limit of bluefish. The ECOs observed two individuals with eight bluefish, more than the maximum limit of three per person. Additionally, neither subject possessed a marine fishing registration as required in New York State. ECOs ticketed the men for catching fish over the limit and fishing without a marine registration. The Officers ended the night at another bridge, where ECO Pabes observed dim lights flashing on and off in the Great South Bay. The Officers approached the area and observed a group of men netting fish. The subjects possessed undersized blue claw crabs and summer flounder (fluke). Blue claw crabs must be 4.5 inches, and fluke must be 19.5 inches. Officers issued tickets for possession of undersized species and gave various warnings for fishing without a marine registration and taking fish by means other than angling. 
  

• On Aug. 29, ECO Hilton responded to reports of subjects taking thousands of fish by net at the Jones Beach Field 10 fishing piers in Nassau County. ECO Smith responded to provide backup given the number of fish reportedly being taken. The Officers observed two subjects in the parking lot with fish, another actively netting on a pier, and two more attempting to hide near a bait shop. The group possessed nearly 100 snapper (young bluefish) and approximately 1,000 peanut bunker (young menhaden). There are no size limits for bluefish or bunker, but there are daily harvest limits. The daily limit for bluefish in New York State is three per person and the daily limit for bunker is 100 per person. ECOs issued tickets for possession of over-the-limit species and educated them on the importance of conservation. 
  

• On Sept. 1, ECO Parker worked a joint enforcement detail with the National Park Service (NPS) on the Delaware River in Orange and Sullivan counties. At the end of the patrol, while Officers were loading the patrol boat onto its trailer, they received a call for assistance from NPS Rangers who stopped a group of 10 individuals with undersized fish, spear guns, and diving equipment in the town of Lumberland, Sullivan County. The Officers determined after a brief interview that several individuals within the group used spear guns to unlawfully take fish. Additionally, only two individuals had freshwater fishing licenses as required in New York. Officers seized 97 illegally taken fish and issued a total of 12 tickets for offenses including taking undersized fish, illegal possession of fish, taking fish by means other than angling, fishing without a freshwater fishing license, and depositing refuse along a highway. The case is pending further enforcement upon review of electronic evidence retrieved from the location. The Officers issued 18 total tickets for the daylong detail. 
  

• On Sept. 7, ECO Day observed a small vessel in the water off Hagerman Landing Beach in Rocky Point, Suffolk County, about an hour before sunrise without its navigation lights turned on. Officer Day observed the three anglers on board fishing for several hours, appearing to catch many porgy and black sea bass. He and Brookhaven Harbormaster Siele conducted a compliance check on the vessel when it returned to shore and discovered the subjects in possession of 127 porgy and nine black sea bass. Thirty-seven porgy were over the possession limit and 33 were less than the legal size required in New York when fishing from a vessel. All nine black sea bass were under the legal size limit. ECO Day issued three tickets to each angler for the fishing violations and Harbormaster Siele issued tickets to one subject for using an unregistered trailer and not having a visual signaling device or sound producing device aboard a vessel. The seized fish were donated to Sweetbriar Nature Center to feed raptors in their care.

 

ECOs Broughton (left) and Veloski (right) of DEC’s Marine Enforcement Unit with black sea bass, scup, and summer flounder seized during fishing compliance checks in Kings and Queens counties (photo attached)

 

Illegally netted bunker and snapper seized during fishing compliance checks in Nassau County (photo attached)

 

ECO Pabes conducts a fishing compliance check after dark in Nassau County (photo attached)

 

Spears and illegal fish discovered during fishing compliance check in Sullivan County (photo attached)

 

Undersized and over-the-limit fish seized during fishing compliance check in Rocky Point, Suffolk County (photo attached)

 

To contact an ECO to report an environmental crime or to report an incident, call 1-844-DEC-ECOS for 24-hour dispatch or email (for non-urgent violations).