New York State will hold exams later this fall for individuals interested in becoming an Environmental Conservation Police Officer (ECO) or Forest Ranger, State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos announced.

The civil service exams will be held Nov. 19. The application filing deadline is Oct. 5.

There are separate exams and different qualifications for becoming an ECO or Forest Ranger. Potential applicants should review qualifications required for each position to determine which exam they are eligible to take. Those who want to apply for both positions, and meet the required qualifications, must submit separate applications and will be required to take both exams.

A full summary of qualifications, salary and application procedures can be found at the following links: https://www.cs.ny.gov/examannouncements/announcements/oc/26-198.cfm and https://www.cs.ny.gov/examannouncements/announcements/oc/26-199.cfm.

Exam scores will be used to rank candidates and create eligible lists to fill openings. Although the exam is being offered, there is no guarantee that there will be openings; however, the eligibility list from this exam is expected to remain active for up to four years.

In the future, candidates selected from the list would be required to attend 27-week residential program at the DEC Basic Academy. Recruits must pass all elements of the Academy before being assigned to a work location. DEC recently graduated 48 recruits from DEC’s 20th Basic School for Uniformed Officers on Sept. 2.

Minimum Qualifications to take the ECO exam include: a bachelor’s degree or higher, supplemented by at least 18 credit hours of qualifying coursework; or an associate’s degree, supplemented by 18 hours of qualifying coursework, and one of the following: one year of experience in the areas of environmental engineering and environmental technology; freshwater or marine sciences, wildlife sciences, forestry; one year experience as a police officer with appropriate certification; or two years of active U.S. military service, with an honorable discharge.

Minimum qualifications to take the Forest Ranger exam include: a bachelor’s degree or higher, supplemented by at least 30 credit hours in environmental science; an associate’s or higher–level degree in forestry, forest technology, forest management, natural resources management, forest recreation, forest engineering, or environmental engineering; or an associate’s or higher-level degree including or supplemented by 18 credit hours of qualifying coursework in environmental sciences, and one of the following: two years of qualifying technical/professional work experience in the natural resources management field; or two years of active U.S. military service, with an honorable discharge.

Additional information on DEC ECOs and Forest Rangers is available at: http://nycoa.org/ or http://www.dec.ny.gov/regulations/41086.html.