Outdoors with Larry DiDonato - ECO Union Cites Critical Officer Shortage

The PBA of New York State Decries Critical Shortage of NYS DEC Environmental Conservation Officers with Deer & Bear Season Underway

The Police Benevolent Association of New York State (PBA of New York State) is calling attention to what they cite as the critical understaffing of Environmental Conservation Officers (ECO’s) around New York State, as New York’s hunting seasons for deer and bear are fully underway.

Opening day and the remainder of the Southern Zone deer season represent the busiest time of the year for ECOs in nearly all upstate DEC regions. We are currently right in the middle of the season with the opener falling on November 15th and the season ending on December 7th. 

According to the ECO union, as of fall 2025, New York’s dedicated force of ECO’s are operating nearly 20% below their fully apportioned staffing:

• Currently, there are only 276 sworn ECO’s of all ranks in the nine regions and 92 wildlife management units of the NYS DEC.

• Only 182 of these sworn ECO’s are field officers, and only 25 are field investigators, with some ECO’s assigned to New York City or other urban settings.

• This means that at any given time on any day during deer and bear season, some NYSDEC regions will have fewer than six field officers covering regions as large as 8,000 to 10,000 square miles.

• Also, multiple wildlife management units will be without a single assigned ECO at any given time on any day.

The union goes on to assert; “Under state rules, NYS DEC may staff up to 342 ECO’s across all regions and units, plus 18 dispatchers. However, state law does not require NYSDEC to staff a minimum number of ECO’s and dispatchers – meaning that while recruitment may challenge the ranks of ECO’s in some years, the staffing decisions by NYS DEC have affected ECO staffing in all years dating back to at least the 1990’s.

The critical understaffing of ECO’s has occurred bit by bit over several decades. Each time our member ECO’s ranks are reduced, it means fewer wildlife protections, more unsafe hunting conditions and an overall degradation of New York’s responsibility to the environment,” said James McCartney, president of the PBA of New York State. “Our members are literally put in harm’s way during deer and bear season, and they do so willingly and without reservation in the name of environmental justice. It’s time for New York to recognize their bravery and dedication, and begin to provide the staffing support that ECO’s deserve.”

DEC officials responded to the union’s assertion of the lack of adequate manpower by acknowledging the, “Division of Law Enforcement plays a critically important role in keeping hunting a safe and enjoyable activity, while also using expertise to enforce the State’s many environmental laws and regulations in place to protect the public and our natural resources. DEC is ensuring our Environmental Conservation Police Officers can meet the challenges of tomorrow and continue their historic conservation legacy. During the last several years, DEC has hosted academies to build up ECO ranks and looks forward to holding another academy in February 2026 to continue supporting this highly trained force.”
DEC goes on to describe that ECOs are available 24/7/365 through their 24-hour dispatch which enables them to respond to urgent calls in their assigned areas. “Officers routinely respond to calls at all hours to ensure public safety and will be out in force during the hunting seasons, as they have been in previous years.” They note increased recruitment efforts for new hires so ECOs can successfully address current and future challenges. Further, they announced, “DEC’s Division of Law Enforcement is gearing up to host the next Basic School for Uniformed Officers, slated to begin in February 2026. The 2025-26 New York State Budget funds 290 DEC ECOs and Investigators. Today, there are 279 sworn Officers in DEC’s Division of Law Enforcement who fielded an estimated 45,000 calls in the first half of 2025 alone, resulting in ECOs and Investigators across the state responding to more than 18,934 complaints and working on cases that resulted in 9,440 tickets or arrests for violations ranging from deer poaching to solid waste dumping, illegal mining, the illegal pet trade, and excessive emissions violations.”

 Therein lies the problem. PBA of NYS ECO Local Director, Matt Krug, asserts their budgeted fill level (the DEC target for ECO staffing) is 342 ECOs and Investigators, while DEC asserts the staffing target is just 290 ECOs and Investigators. That’s a huge disparity. Using DECs numbers, ECOs are down just 11 officers, and they plan to make that up with the police academy scheduled for this February. Not so says the ECO union official who reports the number of new hires authorized for the February academy is just 30 ECO recruits. Not near enough to make a dent in actual deployed field ECOs when factoring in current attrition rates. Matt Krug went on to state, “The number of new recruits to be hired for the upcoming February academy should be closer to 60 new ECO hires. Plus, the next academy needs to take place as soon as possible after the February class to keep ECO numbers adequate to successfully fight poaching and pollution in New York State.”

At this moment, ECO’s are responsible for monitoring nearly 600,000 licensed resident and non-resident hunters who participate in NY’s big game season. While they enforce the state’s laws and regulations surrounding big game hunting across the state, ECO’s are not relieved of their responsibility to protect the state’s environment, responding to ongoing threats to our natural resources. They remain the only police force in the state responsible for the criminal enforcement to protect our air, land, and waters from potentially devasting and sometimes irreversible destruction from unmitigated pollution and destruction. They are the “Thin Green Line,” and remain the last line of defense to protect our environment.

“This hunting season, the PBA of New York State is urging NYS DEC and New York state lawmakers and leaders to mandate adequate ECO staffing, lift the ECO staffing cap, hire more trained and capable ECO’s, and allocate additional funding for new officer positions to meet current enforcement needs. Only though adequate officer staffing can the state of New York maintain the safety and integrity of its wildlife population and outdoor spaces.”

Happy hunting, fishing and trapping until next time!

Remember to report poaching and polluting violations by calling the 24-hour ECO Dispatch at 1-844-DEC-ECOS.