When Assistant Forest Ranger Brendan Jackson died alone at a remote Adirondack campsite last June, it took eight days for the state to recover his body.
Now, a sweeping policy overhaul by the state Department of Environmental Conservation is changing the rules around how state personnel work in the backcountry of New York’s wilderness. It’s also sparking a debate about safety, gear and field protocols.
Commissioner Amanda Lefton said in May that her department made an “exhaustive” review of procedures after Jackson went missing. His body was located by forest rangers in his tent at Duck Hole in the High Peaks Wilderness, eight days after informing a state dispatcher that he was signing off for the day. He was scheduled to work the following days and died during his workweek. Lefton said the cause of his death is undetermined…