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.”????

Touch-a-Truck – Suffolk County

On Aug. 17, ECO Anderson joined the Blue Point Fire Department for a “Touch-a-Truck” event during a block party in Blue Point. Partygoers had the opportunity to look inside and explore emergency vehicles and equipment used by first responders. Officer Anderson spoke to the public about her role as an Environmental Conservation Police Officer, the importance of protecting New York’s natural resources, and explained some of the gear used by ECOs on daily patrols.

Alleged Burglary in Progress Busted Up – Broome County

On Aug. 18, ECO McCormick and Lieutenant Rigoli observed a vehicle parked suspiciously on the side of the road in the town of Windsor. The Officers observed one subject getting into the vehicle quickly and another attempting to hide behind a tree as their patrol car approached. The ECOs turned their vehicle around a short time later, but the parked car had already left the location. The Officers drove in the vehicle’s direction and discovered it a short time later hidden in a field down a quarry road. ECO McCormick drove down the road and saw the vehicle and a driver he immediately recognized as the same subject they had previously charged for hunting and traffic violations.

The driver had no identification or documentation for the vehicle, claimed it belonged to his wife, and that it had broken down on the quarry road. He also denied knowing the individual unsuccessfully hiding behind the tree.

The Officers returned to the residence where the subjects were originally spotted and discovered a safe in the yard that had been wheeled on a dolly from an outbuilding on the property. ECO McCormick and Lt. Rigoli checked the residence, garage, and outbuilding and found the door of the outbuilding kicked in. They contacted Broome County Dispatch, who then alerted New York State Police.

State Police arrived and discovered items stolen from the outbuilding inside the subject’s vehicle. State Police are pursuing Penal Law charges while ECO McCormick will address the vehicle and traffic law violations. The second subject was not located by ECOs.

Unlawful Ginseng Harvest – Delaware County

On Aug. 29, ECOs Osborne and Doig received a trespassing complaint in the town of Tompkins. The complainant advised there were two people trespassing on a large tract of remote land, possibly harvesting ginseng ahead of season, which began on Sept. 1.

The ECOs responded to the area and located an SUV and small utility trailer hidden off-road on a logging trail. They spoke to nearby residents who explained the owner of the vehicle may be an individual who recently obtained multiple logging contracts in the area and was potentially out marking timber. The properties covered by the alleged timber contracts consisted of approximately 2,000 acres with 51 separate properties, all off-road.

The ECOs began scouring the properties on foot in search of the subject and eventually located two individuals on an ATV with their hands and knees soiled with dirt, unusual for a crew marking timber, but a potential indicator of ginseng collectors. The two subjects denied digging for ginseng, but the ECOs searched the area around the ATV and located a small duffle bag hidden in a briar patch. The bag contained 13 ginseng roots harvested on the property illegally and out of season. The investigation revealed the two subjects posed as loggers to residents in the area to gain access to the vast tract of land and steal ginseng from posted property. The Officers charged them with a total of six tickets for poaching ginseng out of season and without permission from landowners.

When harvested and dried, American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) can be a valuable resource. However, New York State has strict laws regulating ginseng, including an established season (Sept. 1 – Nov. 30), age of the plant which may be legally harvested, and landowner permission when harvesting. American ginseng is a native perennial herb and an important forest crop.

More information on the laws and regulations of American ginseng can be found on the DEC website: https://dec.ny.gov/nature/animals-fish-plants/american-ginseng.

Illegal Turtle Sale – Kings County

On Aug. 29, ECO Rappold, with assistance from an Investigator in DEC’s Bureau of Environmental Crimes Investigations, conducted an undercover buy of four eastern musk turtles illegally possessed and offered for sale online in Brooklyn. The Officers seized the turtles and transported them to a rehabilitator to receive proper care. The seller received tickets for unlawfully offering protected wildlife for sale and possessing turtles less than four inches. Eastern musk turtles are native to New York and cannot be taken, sold, possessed, or transported in New York without the proper permits.

New York State Fair Display – Onondaga County

ECOs once again participated in this year’s Great New York State Fair in Syracuse, hosting a display exhibit featuring unlawful items made from endangered species that were seized by DEC’s Division of Law Enforcement. Most of the products were illegally offered for sale and then forfeited to the State as part of a criminal or administrative action. Items displayed included full body wolf and leopard mounts, a walrus skull, sperm whale teeth, crocodile purse, elephant footstools, and numerous other ivory items. The exhibit highlighted the great work done by ECOs and Investigators across New York to combat the illegal trade of endangered species and served as a reminder to the public that lawbreakers will be fully investigated and charged appropriately.

Fishing Compliance Checks – Nassau, Suffolk, Kings, Bronx Counties

A swimmer with a spear and a boat captain with more than 100 illegal fish on board are just some of things ECOs encountered in this week’s statewide fishing compliance checks.

• On Aug. 8, ECOs Milliron, Pansini, Rappold, and Swart, along with law enforcement agents from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), conducted compliance checks of wholesalers at a fish market in Bronx County. ECOs found one wholesaler selling multiple striped bass longer than the 38-inch maximum commercial length allowable in New York. Officers seized the fish and issued tickets for the striped bass and other observed violations. Later that morning, ECOs Pansini and Rappold donated the seized fish, totaling 240 pounds, to the Bowery Mission. The defendant paid $1,300 in fines.

• On Aug. 11, ECOs Cacciola and Perkins received an early morning call from a Brookhaven Bay Constable reporting three fishermen returning to land at Woodhull Landing Road in the town of Brookhaven, Suffolk County, in an unregistered vessel and in possession of a significant number of undersized porgies. The ECOs responded to the location and discovered 99 porgies, 91 of which were under the State’s legal size of 11 inches. ECOs issued nine tickets to the three anglers for possession of undersized and over-the-limit porgies.

• On Aug. 11, ECOs Cacciola, Giarratana, and Perkins patrolled Long Island Sound’s Middle Grounds in the town of Brookhaven, Suffolk County, and performed a compliance check on two people aboard a Connecticut-registered vessel fishing in New York State waters. The pair possessed14 undersized black sea bass and nine undersized porgies. The size limit for black sea bass in New York is 16.5 inches and 11 inches for porgies caught from a vessel. Officers issued six tickets to two individuals for possession of undersized black sea bass, over-the-limit black sea bass, and undersized porgies.

• On Aug. 11, ECO DeVito stopped to check people harvesting crabs from a bridge in Westhampton, Suffolk County. After checking the crabbers, she noticed individuals with buckets and poles on the other side of the bridge. Officer DeVito inspected the other group’s catches and discovered two men in possession of more than 30 snappers. The legal limit is three per person. ECO DeVito seized the excess snappers as evidence and issued tickets to both individuals returnable to the Town of Southampton Justice Court.

• On Aug. 12, ECO Pabes investigated a suspicious light under water by the M2 bridge while driving on the Meadowbrook Parkway in the town of Hempstead, Nassau County. Once under the bridge, Officer Pabes observed several people standing around the beach looking towards the water and began speaking to them when a swimmer emerged from the water wearing snorkeling gear and holding a spear. The swimmer tried to ditch the spear when he noticed the Officer, but ECO Pabes ordered the subject to retrieve it and then conducted a fishing compliance check. During the check, he located a bag containing 24 flounder and 35 blue claw crabs, all undersized and with spear injuries. In addition, ECO Pabes discovered some of the crabs were egg-bearing, which are prohibited to possess even if legal size. The subject also lacked the required Marine Registry. Officer Pabes ticketed the individual for illegal possession of undersized fish, illegal possession of fish more than the daily limit, illegal possession of undersized blue claw crabs, illegal possession of egg-bearing blue claw crabs, and no Marine Registry, all returnable to Nassau County First District Court. All the fish and crabs were seized as evidence.

• On Aug. 17, ECOs DeVito, McGhee, and Simmons patrolled the east end of Long Island, boarding both recreational and commercial boats in Montauk, Suffolk County. The Officers discovered multiple violations on one commercial vessel including possession of black sea bass and black fish over the daily limit and other violations related to reporting vessel trips. The ECOs seized 150 illegal black sea bass and issued tickets to the boat’s captain for the violations observed, returnable to the Town of East Hampton Justice Court.

• On Aug. 21, a Nassau County man pleaded guilty and paid a fine for taking fish illegally earlier this year. In April, ECO Pabes received multiple complaints about an Island Park resident taking summer flounder illegally throughout Hempstead Bay. On May 5, ECOs Pabes, Kochanowski, and Hilton began investigating the subject as he fished from his vessel. They tracked his movements from Hempstead Bay to his dock in Island Park and then his seafood market in Oceanside. The Officers interviewed the subject who denied any wrongdoing, but ECOs searched the back of his pickup truck and located a cooler containing 19 summer flounder, 17 of which were under the legal size limit of 19 inches. The subject also possessed summer flounder more than the daily limit of 16. Officers charged the individual with unlawful commercial harvest of summer flounder without a permit, unlawful possession of undersized flounder, unlawful possession of summer flounder over the harvest limit, untagged quota-managed species containers, and illegal commercialization of fish, all returnable to Nassau County First District Court. ECOs seized all the fish and donated them to a wildlife rehabilitator in Massapequa. The Island Park resident pleaded guilty to all charges at his arraignment and paid a total of $700 in fines and court fees.

• On Aug. 31, ECO DeVito discovered several violations on a boat in Montauk, Suffolk County, while conducting compliance checks on recreational vessels returning from all-day fishing trips. While inspecting the vessel, Officer DeVito learned the subject on board did not have a Marine Registry and possessed 18 black sea bass, four fluke, and four porgies, all undersized and over the daily limit. She also discovered one out-of-season blackfish. ECO DeVito issued multiple tickets to the subject for the violations, returnable to the Town of East Hampton Justice Court. 

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).