Putnam Woman Among NY Environmental Conservation Officer Recruits

Forty-three new Environmental Conservation Officers and Forest Ranger recruits were sworn in Wednesday as New York police officers in a ceremony at the Department of Environmental Conservation training academy in Pulaski. Putnam County resident Chloe Swansen was among them.

The Department of Environmental Conservation opened the 21st Basic School for Uniformed Officers on Feb. 12 with 32 Environmental Conservation Officers and 11 Forest Ranger recruits reporting for duty. The recruits do not receive the Oath of Office until two weeks into the academy due to a high attrition rate at the start of the vigorous 28-week, 1,288-hour academy. The class is expected to graduate on Aug. 25, 2017.

“Receiving the Oath of Office is significant for the recruits because this is the time they make the move from civilian life to law enforcement officer,” said DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos. “Today, these recruits are taking a vow to uphold both the Constitution of the United States and of New York State, and I commend their desire to serve New York and its citizens.”

The recruits range in age from 22 to 44 years old, come from 28 counties across the state, and include both a Pennsylvania and a New Jersey native. They also include four former corrections officers, two former Sheriff Deputies, an Air Force veteran, a former town police officer, a former Coast Guardsman, and an Army reservist. The full list of recruits is available here.

Upon graduation, recruits will be assigned patrol areas, typically consisting of one or two counties. They will join the ranks of 286 ECOs and 132 Forest Rangers currently serving across the state.

While the first few weeks of the academy focus primarily on basic police skills such as physical training, drill and ceremony, and computer skills, recruits will later delve into intensive instruction, including firearms training, swiftwater rescues, wildland fire suppression, and emergency vehicle operation.

An ECO's job duties are centered on the 71 chapters of New York State Environmental Conservation Law and can range from investigating deer poaching and solid waste dumping to checking fishing licenses on a local waterway. In 2016, ECOs responded to more than 26,400 calls and issued more than 22,150 tickets.Forest Rangers' duties focus on the public's use of approximately 5 million acres of DEC-administered state lands and forests and can span from patrolling state properties to conducting search and rescue operations and fighting forest fires.

"From Montauk Point to the City of Buffalo to deep in the Adirondack wilderness, ECOs are the ‘Thin Green Line’ protecting New Yorkers from environmental damage and exploitation, whether enforcing clean air and water regulations, supporting fish and wildlife laws, investigating large-scale environmental crimes, or ensuring solid waste management," said DEC Division of Law Enforcement Director Joseph Schneider.

The recruits in this newest class were selected from a list of qualifications and passing scores generated from the most recent Civil Service exam, which was given in 2013.

To view job qualifications for ECOs, visit the Environmental Conservation Officer job description web page. For Forest Rangers, visit the Forest Ranger job description web page.

For an inside look into what it takes to become an ECO or a Forest Ranger, watch this 4-minute clip from last year's Basic School for Uniformed Officers on YouTube.

Screenshot from DEC Training Academy video