DEC Environmental Conservation Officer Highlights |
ECO Actions for Mid-NovemberNew York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Environmental Conservation Police Officers (ECOs) enforce the 71 Chapters of NY Environmental Conservation Law, protecting fish and wildlife and preserving environmental quality across New York. In 2016, the 286 ECOs across the state responded to 26,400 calls and issued 22,150 tickets for crimes ranging from deer poaching to corporate toxic dumping and illegal mining, the black market pet trade, and excessive emissions violations. If you witness an environmental crime or believe a violation of environmental law occurred, please call the DEC Division of Law Enforcement hotline at 1-844-DEC-ECOS (1-844-332-3267). “From Montauk Point to Mount Marcy, from Brooklyn to Buffalo, the ECOs patrolling our state are the first line of defense in protecting New York’s environment and our natural resources, ensuring that they exist for future generations of New Yorkers,” said Commissioner Basil Seggos. “They work long and arduous hours, both deep in our remote wildernesses and in the tight confines of our urban landscapes. Although they don’t receive much public fanfare, the work of our ECOs is critical to achieving DEC’s mission to protect and enhance our environment.” Recent missions carried out by ECOs include: Pennsylvania Buck Seized During Stop — Broome County
Breaking the Law at Bayville Bridge – Nassau County
Illegal Fish in Chinatown – New York County
Upstate Alligator – Broome County You Can’t Bait the Deer and Bear – Ulster County
The Complainant Becomes the Suspect – Niagara County
Green and Gray Patrols – Sullivan County On Nov. 19, ECO Tom Koepf received a call from a complainant stating he had just heard a shot come from a known baited tree stand near his residence in the town of Lumberland. ECO Koepf patrolled there, found bait, but was unable to locate anyone bow hunting at the location. ECOs Koepf and Corey Hornicek and State Trooper Schafer visited a suspected residence and the officers observed people walking around a well-lit backyard. The officers asked a male subject if he had any luck this deer season and he excitedly said that he had, in fact, just killed a seven-point buck about an hour earlier on a property down the road. The officers asked the man to take them to his stand. At the stand, officers continued to question the man about his deer season and learned that he had shot an additional five-point buck during the bow season about a week prior. The man insisted that the five-pointer was shot from a different treestand behind his own residence and that there was no bait at that location. ECO Koepf and Trooper Schafer inspected the tree stand and did not find any bait immediately in front of it. However, a short distance away in the backyard of the residence, the officers found a large pile of apples and corn. The man admitted that he had been baiting deer in the backyard the entire summer and early fall. Both bucks (one whole deer and one head) were seized from the hunter, and he was issued four tickets returnable to the Town of Lumberland Court.
On Nov. 19, ECO Ricky Wood, K-9 Deming, and Trooper Peter Bizjak responded to a complaint at a hunting camp in Ferndale involving several hunters hunting deer with the aid of bait. One evasive hunter tried leading the officers away from a known baited area. K-9 Deming picked up a scent and quickly located a four-point buck in the leaves between a tree stand and a pile of corn. While the officers were investigating the complaint, a subject emerged from the woods near the camp wearing camouflage. The man claimed he was only filming his friends, not hunting. Suspecting that there was a firearm hidden in the woods, ECO Wood worked K-9 Deming in the area from where the subject emerged, eventually locating a firearm hidden in the leaves. Upon the ECO’s return to the camp with the gun, the subject changed his story and admitted to hunting. A final hunter returned to camp on an UTV with corn, a doe, and a loaded firearm. Ultimately, the three hunters were charged with hunting deer with the aid of bait. One subject was charged with hunting without a license. Two hunters were charged with the unlawful taking of protected wildlife for harvesting deer with the aid of bait, and one hunter was also charged with possessing a loaded firearm in or on a motor vehicle. All charges are pending in the Town of Liberty Court.
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