New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) 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 2025, DEC Forest Rangers conducted 362 search and rescue missions, extinguished 202 wildfires covering 840 acres, participated in 68 prescribed fires that served to rejuvenate 1,649 acres of land, and worked on cases that resulted in more than 1,100 tickets and arrests. Also in 2025, 41 Forest Rangers were deployed to fire assignments in 10 different states. During the first six months of 2026, Forest Rangers conducted 126 search and rescue missions, extinguished 65 wildfires covering more than 215 acres, and participated in 54 prescribed fires that served to rejuvenate 1,355 acres of land.
“Our Forest Rangers are elite law enforcement leaders who put their lives on the line when they respond to a search and rescue, wildland fire, or State land violation,” DEC Commissioner Amanda Lefton said. “We’re fortunate to have them patrolling State lands and keeping people safe. Their expertise and professionalism are valuable assets, not only in New York, but around the country wherever emergencies arise.”
Ranger Award: On June 12, Forest Ranger Gagne was awarded the Central Pine Barrens Law Enforcement Council - Environmental Enforcement Officer of the Year award. Ranger Gagne won the honor for his 2025-2026 interagency cooperation within the Central Pine Barrens, enforcing multiple off-road and all-terrain vehicle law enforcement details and surveilling, investigating, and adjudicating various illegal dumping cases. The award also recognizes Ranger Gagne’s contribution to prescribed fire and ecological restoration projects on hundreds of acres within the ecologically rare and fire dependent pine barrens.
Ranger Gagne award
Village of Pittsford
Monroe County
Public Outreach: On June 13, Forest Ranger Raffaldi-Smith conducted a workshop at the annual Outdoor Expo presented by the Genesee Valley chapter of the Adirondack Mountain Club and Monroe County Parks. Ranger Raffaldi-Smith focused her discussion on “what’s in a Ranger’s backpack.”
Ranger Raffaldi-Smith at Outdoor Expo
Ranger Raffaldi-Smith at Outdoor Expo
Town of Boston
Erie County
Wilderness Rescue: On June 23 at 12:01 p.m., members of the Niagara Frontier Search and Rescue (NFSAR) team requested Forest Ranger assistance in the search for 29-year-old who claimed they were going to harm themselves after an argument with a family member two days earlier. Members of the Erie County Sheriff’s Office searched the day before using drones and their helicopter with negative results. NFSAR and New York State Police used K9s with negative results as well. Rangers Leszczyk, Streczywilk, and Thaine organized searches in some of the same areas that were searched in the dark. A short time later, search crews located the subject approximately 100 feet off a trail. The Buffalo resident was unresponsive, but breathing, and was surrounded by drug paraphernalia. Rescuers transported the subject via UTV to an Erie County Ambulance that transported them to the hospital. Resources were clear at 5 p.m.
Town of Denning
Ulster County
Wilderness Search: On June 26 at 6:25 p.m., Ray Brook Dispatch called Forest Rangers Horn and Sweeney about a subject who planned to die by suicide. The subject told a loved one the plan was to do this after eating a last meal in Neversink. Looking at a Google search history and credit card history, Rangers determined the subject ate at a restaurant in Neversink and did a search for the Denning trailhead in the Slide Mountain Wilderness. At 7:00 p.m., Rangers Horn and Sweeney located the 31-year-old's car at the parking lot. Assistant Forest Ranger Smith reported he saw a hiker matching the subject’s description on the trail approximately a mile in from the parking area. Rangers Allwine and Fox joined the search from the Slide Mountain trailhead. All four Rangers continued onto the summit of Slide Mountain. At 3:00 a.m., Rangers located the subject from New Jersey camping in a wooded area off the summit. Rangers escorted the subject to the trailhead where New York State Police took them to the hospital for a mental health evaluation. Resources were clear at 6:20 a.m.
Town of Hunter
Greene County
Wilderness Rescue: On June 27 at 12:20 p.m., Greene County 911 requested Forest Ranger assistance for a hiker having a seizure near Artist’s Rock on the Escarpment Trail. Rangers Fox, Franceschina, Jackson, and Kocher reached the 63-year-old, did a patient evaluation, and carried the subject to the trailhead. A Catskill ambulance transported the patient to the hospital. Resources were clear at 1:55 p.m.
Town of Lake George
Warren County
Wilderness Rescue: On June 27 at 1:45 p.m., Forest Rangers Baker, Carabetta, and Kabrehl responded to a report of a hiker with an injured ankle on Prospect Mountain. Rangers located the 67-year-old from Connecticut at the summit. Rangers, Lake George Police, and Lake George and North Queensbury Fire Departments carried the subject to the trailhead and turned over care to Lake George EMS, who transported the patient to the hospital.
Prospect Mountain rescue
Town of Hunter
Greene County
Wilderness Rescue: On June 27 at 2:00 p.m., Forest Rangers responded to a call for a subject with cardiac issues at a campsite in the Indianhead Wilderness along Echo Lake. Ranger Fox located the 21-year-old from Nesconset, conducted a patient assessment, and provided food and water. Four other Rangers, along with the Twin Clove Technical Rope Rescue Team, and the Cedar Grove and Centerville Fire Departments helped load the subject into a UTV, which drove to the Overlook Mountain trailhead. Woodstock Ambulance transported the patient to the hospital. Resources were clear at 6:20 p.m.
Town of Schuyler Falls
Clinton County
Motorcycle Accident: On June 27 at 2:45pm, while on patrol, Forest Ranger Captain Booth and Ranger Odell encountered a single vehicle motorcycle accident. Rangers accessed the patient and assisted with traffic control. Morrisonville EMS took over care of the patient.
Motorcycle Accident
Town of Hunter
Greene County
Wilderness Rescue: On June 28 at 1:42 p.m., Forest Ranger Dawson responded to a call for a hiker with an ankle injury near the Catskill Mountain House site. Ranger Dawson located the 29-year-old and assisted them back to the trailhead. Resources were clear at 2:30 p.m.
Town of Thompson
Sullivan County
Wilderness Rescue: On June 28 at 4:45 p.m., Forest Ranger Kocher and the Rock Hill Fire Department responded to a call for a hiker feeling faint on the Mullet Brook Falls loop at Neversink River Unique Area. Ranger Kocher located the 61-year-old from Congers hiking with their group towards the Wolf Brook trailhead. The hiker wanted to continue hiking out slowly and declined medical attention. Resources were clear at 6:30 p.m.
Town of Indian Lake
Hamilton County
Wilderness Rescue: on June 29 at 1:20 p.m., Hamilton County requested Forest Ranger assistance with a dehydrated hiker approximately 2.5 miles up the trail on Snowy Mountain. Two Rangers and an EMT hiked to the subject’s location and began rehydrating them. Rangers escorted the subject down the trail where two additional Rangers were waiting with a six-wheeler vehicle. Rangers transported the 15-year old from Sharon Springs to Indian Lake EMS, who then transported the teenager to the hospital. Resources were clear at 5:48 p.m.
Town of Southampton
Suffolk County
Public Outreach: Forest Ranger Gallagher and Smokey Bear joined the North Atlantic Fire Science Exchange and Forest Stewards Guild for the Central Pine Barrens Commission’s Barrens to Bays Summer Camp. Rangers talked about the pine barrens fire ecology and wildfire prevention.
Barrens to Bays summer camp
Be sure to properly prepare and plan before entering the backcountry. Visit DEC’s “Hike Smart NY,” “Adirondack Backcountry,” and “Catskill Backcountry Information” webpages for more information.
If a person needs a Forest Ranger, whether it’s for a search and rescue, to report a wildfire, or to report illegal activity on State lands and easements, they should call 833-NYS-RANGERS. If a person needs urgent assistance, they can call 911. To contact a Forest Ranger for information about a specific location, the DEC website has phone numbers for every Ranger listed by region.
