Adirondack Forest Police: Then and Now

        The present day Adirondack Park encloses more than 6 million acres of publicly and privately owned land, encompassing over 2,000 miles of hiking trails, 3,000 lakes, and 1,200 miles of rivers. In 1892, officials in Albany were forced to address how to enforce regulations in this new park, where locals had been living for multiple generations without little to no regulation and oversee (Jacoby 35). To enforce the park, the state created a group of “forest police” (35). These were locals who were “guides to catch guides” and “policemen of the woods” (35). Then and now, foresters were hired to protect, regulate and oversee the Adirondack region. However, as time has progressed, the role of and the perception of the Adirondack forester has shifted from enforcer of regulations to a more protective role.

The foresters were forced to cover vast territories, and in 1911, each forester covered an average of 200 square miles. These foresters, who were locals themselves, were forced to arrest fellow community members for violations of newly instated park regulations, which the locals had no say in implementing. This cultivated a negative public perception of the foresters, who were implementing the new state laws. Often, if locals didn’t approve of a forester’s action, they would intimate the foresters with physical and social threats. Physically, there were many threatened and attempted shootings at the foresters. Socially, the townspeople would make sure the forester and his family were the “most cordially hated” in the county (37). When new foresters arrived to towns, the locals would stalk the foresters to learn their daily habits. During the late 1800s and early 1900s, the overall community perceived the foresters in a negative manner.

Jay Scott, a ranger in the park, is taking a picture of a fallen tree that needs to be removed for safety reasons (Weinstein).

Today, the public perception of the forester has shifted towards a more positive and welcoming attitude. One notable similarity is the expertise still required of the foresters. To become a forest ranger in the Adirondacks today you must still possess a thorough understanding of the park. However, the role is much more specialized and requires a comprehensive education with forestry.  In order to be a forester, you must have a bachelor’s degree or 30 credit hours in environmental science, an associate's degree specifically in an forestry field, or at least two years of experience (“Adirondack Forest Ranger”). These requirements show that the role is much more focused on a scientific understanding of the park. Obviously, to be a forest ranger in the Adirondacks today, you must still possess a thorough understanding of the Adirondacks and wildlife, which is understandable.

Once you look past the job requirements of becoming a forester, you can begin to notice the differences in the job itself. Today, the Adirondack forest ranger provides patrol and protective services, acting as “police officers, wild land firefighters, and first responders” (Weinstein). Within their protective services, they are protecting both the park and the people within it. With six million acres and a lot of people adventuring in it, there are bound to be accidents. And with only 43 forest rangers, they are left with conducting many search and rescue missions (Weinstein). In 2014, forest rangers conducted 164 search missions, 100 rescues and nine recoveries (Weinstein). In addition to protecting the people, forest rangers must protect the land, especially from wildfires. In the past 25 years, there have been an average of 245 wildfires per year that foresters responded to, which burned an average total of 2,068 acres per year (Weinstein). It appears that today’s forester focuses much more of its attention on protection of the people and the park, while the original foresters of the park were focused on laws and regulation.

The forester in the park has changed from simply a local police force to a professional regulatory body. They have become more well-respected, with people grateful for their protective presence. They are not only protectors of the park, but also protectors of the locals and visitors.

Works Cited

"Adirondack Forest Ranger Training and Degree Requirements." How to Become a Park Ranger. Park Ranger Edu, n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2016.

Jacoby, Karl. Crimes against Nature: Squatters, Poachers, Thieves, and the Hidden History of American Conservation. Berkeley: U of California, 2001. Print.

Weinstein, Matt. "Adirondack Park a Dream for Nature Lovers, but Dangerous." The Poughkeepsie Journal. N.p., 2 Dec. 2015. Web. 17 Apr. 2016.