DEC forest rangers respond to historic storm

Submitted by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

On Dec. 24-27, forest rangers and environmental conservation police officers assisted Erie County, Jefferson County and Genesee County emergency personnel with the massive winter storm.

On Dec. 24, there were more than 100 calls to Jefferson County 911 for stranded motorists. In addition to rescuing people from their cars, rangers helped deliver cots to a warming center at the Hammond Volunteer Fire Department. In Genesee County, rangers checked 39 disabled vehicles, rescued nine stranded individuals, and transported three essential health care workers to Oishei Children's Hospital in Buffalo. On Dec. 25, rangers checked more than 60 disabled vehicles and assisted numerous stranded motorists in Genesee County, among other actions throughout the holiday. DEC’s storm response continued with rangers and ECOs working with New York State Police wherever they were needed.

Photos courtesy of the NYS DEC

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New York State Department of Environmental Conservation forest rangers respond to search and rescue incidents statewide. Working with other state agencies, local emergency response organizations, and volunteer search and rescue groups, forest rangers locate and extract lost, injured or distressed people from across New York state.

In 2021, DEC forest rangers conducted 426 search and rescue missions, extinguished wildfires, participated in prescribed fires that served to rejuvenate hundreds of acres of land, and worked on cases that resulted in thousands of tickets or arrests.

"Over the last decade, as well as during the COVID-19 pandemic, DEC saw an increase in people visiting state lands to experience New York’s abundant opportunities for outdoor recreation,”  DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said. “DEC’s forest rangers continue to be on the front lines to help visitors get outside responsibly and get home safely, as well as to protect our state’s irreplaceable natural resources. Rangers' knowledge of first aid, land navigation and technical rescue techniques are critical to the success of their missions, which for more than a century have taken them from remote wilderness areas with rugged mountain peaks, to white water rivers, and throughout our vast forests statewide."

Photos courtesy of the NYS DEC