Rangers rock

Sandy Long
Posted 3/22/17

I recently signed up to receive email news bulletins from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). One of the bulletins focuses on the important work done by DEC forest …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Rangers rock

Posted

I recently signed up to receive email news bulletins from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). One of the bulletins focuses on the important work done by DEC forest rangers, often with little public awareness of those activities. 


Reading the DEC Statewide Forest Ranger Highlights bulletin has been eye-opening. As someone who spends a great deal of time outdoors and encourages others to do the same, it’s reassuring to know that these skilled professionals are out there responding to search-and-rescue incidents, as well as performing enforcement, fire management, education and outreach duties. Forest rangers are sworn police officers authorized to enforce all state laws, with special emphasis on Environmental Conservation Law and the protection of state lands and the public using state lands.


According to the DEC, in 2016, its forest rangers conducted 356 search-and-rescue missions, extinguished 185 wildfires that burned a total of 4,191 acres and worked on cases that resulted in nearly 3,000 tickets or arrests. Rangers often work with other state agencies, local emergency response organizations and volunteer search and rescue groups.


Following are a few examples of the range of recent missions carried out by DEC forest rangers:


• In the Town of Coxsackie, Greene County, a human skull was found by a hiker in the Vosburgh Swamp Wildlife Management Area. The area was grid searched and items were collected for forensic testing. The skull is believed to belong to a male between the ages of 10 to 13, with more definitive testing to come.


• In the Town of Poestenkill, Rensselaer County, a white male subject was free climbing a rock wall in the vicinity of Poestenkill Creek when a bystander witnessed the climber fall into the creek. He never surfaced. The water flow was high and turbulent due to the warm weather and snow melt. Forest rangers assisted in a search and recovery effort by setting up a swift water raft utilizing a technical rope system to allow NY State Police divers and an underwater camera to check two large pools near to where the subject had fallen. Additional efforts were undertaken, however, nothing was found and ranger involvement was suspended. 
• In the Town of Amity, Allegany County, after rendering aid to a person whose vehicle was stuck in a ditch, forest ranger Justin Thaine discovered a vehicle whose operator was asleep at the wheel. A search of the vehicle yielded 10 bags of heroin and a DWI arrest. 


Many of the incidents reported in the bulletins describe situations where forest rangers succeed in retrieving lost or wounded outdoor enthusiasts. Check out the DEC’s helpful list of “Things you should know when heading out into the woods” at www.dec.ny.gov/regulations/57053.html. Visit www.dec.ny.gov/54.html to see more DEC news.

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here