New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers joined other DEC staff and volunteers last week to conduct four prescribed fires, including:
- 32 acres in Riverhead
- 4 acres in the David A. Sarnoff Pine Barrens State Forest
- 15 acres in the Otis Pike Pine Barrens
- 49 acres in the Albany Pine Bush
Prescribed fire is an important management tool for improving wildlife habitat, DEC said. They help prevent the spread of invasive species, and in some areas, prescribed fire is used to reduce the buildup of wood, timber litter, and other hazards that fuel fires in order to reduce the potential for wildfires.
The following reports are excerpted from DEC:
On the night of April 24, a ranger and a state trooper broke up a gathering of approximately 60 people in Stoney Pond State Forest, Madison County. The group was illegally burning a stack of around 30 wooden pallets and were told to clean up before they left.
While on patrol the afternoon of April 29, a ranger encountered a man lying in the grass just north of a public forest access road in the town of Russia, Herkimer County. The 54-year-old from Boonville had hit a pothole while riding a dual sport motorcycle and was thrown off the bike, resulting in a separated shoulder. The ranger assessed the biker’s injuries, stabilized his head, and called for an ambulance.
On the afternoon of May 3, rangers helped two lost hikers from Pennsylvania find their way back to the Copperas Pond trailhead, in Essex County. The following day, rangers carried out a hiker from Montreal who injured their knee on Big Slide Mountain. And later that night, seven rangers helped carry out a 33-year-old hiker from Rochester who broke his ankle on Pitchoff Mountain.
READ MORE
Forest rangers conduct controlled burns on 261 acres across New York State – newyorkupstate.com
Rangers find body of missing man in forest near Massachusetts border – newyorkupstate.com
Prepared for the worst, forest rangers rescued only one Adirondack hiker during eclipse – newyorkupstate.com
Forest rangers wrangle downstate wildfire, conduct controlled burn in Cicero Swamp – newyorkupstate.com
Frostbitten and freezing NYC man rescued near summit of state’s highest peak – newyorkupstate.com
Steve Featherstone covers the outdoors for The Post Standard, syracuse.com and NYUP.com. Contact him at [email protected] or on Twitter @featheroutdoors. You can also follow along with all of our outdoors content at newyorkupstate.com/outdoors/ or follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/upstatenyoutdoors.
