The tragic death of a seasoned backcountry officer last June has prompted the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to change its policies governing the work of assistant forest rangers.

Commissioner Amanda Lefton said Friday that her department made an “exhaustive” review of policies and procedures in the wake of Assistant Forest Ranger Brendan Jackson’s death at a remote campsite in the Adirondacks.

The department concluded, she said, that assistant rangers will not be allowed to use DEC resources overnight in the woods and will be discouraged from camping out between shifts. Instead, their assignments each day will begin and end at a trailhead, signing in and out.

Jackson, 42, was last heard from when he checked in with DEC dispatch the evening of June 7, 2025 to sign out for the day from his campsite in the woods. He never signed back in. He regularly remained in the woods on days off.

His decomposed body was found by DEC forest rangers on June 15 in his tent at Duck Hole. The site is a point along the Northville-Placid Trail about 7 miles from a trailhead near Newcomb.

The search had commenced after friends contacted the state June 14 wondering why they hadn’t heard from Jackson, a veteran DEC employee and avid woodsman who stayed in regular contact with a few close friends.

Those friends opened a change.org petition last summer calling for enhanced ranger safety and tighter employee tracking procedures. The petition drew more than 6,300 signatures.

Lefton revealed on Friday that the cause of Jackson’s death has not been determined.

“He was truly an important and well-loved member of the DEC community,” Lefton said. “We implemented measures immediately.” For instance, daily check-ins with a supervisor or an alternate DEC staffer is mandatory, she said.

Also, she said the DEC added updated communications devices for assistant rangers to use this year — satellite global information systems that will work in areas where cell phones don’t.

“Assistant rangers will be required to start and end their shift at a trailhead”

Also she directed $8 million toward enhanced law enforcement spending, including a $2 million computer-aided dispatch system. The system should be in place in 2027, according to Forest Protection Director Melinda Seiden.

As a long standing practice, DEC does not assign assistant forest rangers (AFRs) overnight shifts, Lefton said, but none will be allowed to camp with DEC equipment anymore.

“Out of an abundance of caution, DEC recommends and encourages AFRs not to spend overnights in the backcountry in between shifts; this means AFRs will spend more time in the front country this season,” the commissioner said.

This summer, DEC will employ 19 assistant rangers, 11 in the Adirondacks. They will be maintaining and monitoring trails, checking state lands for illegal and unsafe activities to report to rangers and assisting injured hikers.

They also are trained in communications with dispatchers, Lefton said.

Full-time rangers will be assigned any overnight shifts deemed necessary. But they’ll work in pairs. “This strategy will ensure any emergency impacting the health or safety of a ranger can be responded to by the second ranger,” Lefton said.

Also Seiden has set up extra training of supervisors of all assistant forest rangers with a focus on backcountry information.

Hikers, Lefton said, need to be better prepared when entering the woods. Unprepared hikers can add to the workload and danger rangers face.

She said rangers are already “very busy.” Last year, they conducted 362 search and rescues, fought 202 wildfires over 840 acres, oversaw 68 prescribed burns and handed out 1,100 tickets or arrest documents. More than three dozen rangers were assigned to help fight fires out-of-state.

Lefton said she expects 17 recruits will graduate soon to become rangers to add to a force of 153 rangers and supervisors statewide. In the Adirondack Park, DEC employs 45 rangers, 11 assistant rangers, 11 lieutenants, three captains and one major.

The DEC may be able to add 45 staff members to its nearly 3,500 employees under the proposed state budget that Gov. Kathy Hochul has developed.

Adirondack Ranger Robert Praczkajlo, who retired recently, said there are 103 rangers in the field statewide, and the force requires 150.