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DEC marks 50th amid pandemic

DEC celebrates 50th amid virus

New York Gov. Nelson Rockefeller, front, signs a law establishing the state Department of Environmental Conservation on the first-ever Earth Day, April 22, 1970. (Photo provided by DEC)

The 50th anniversary of Earth Day, April 22, also marked the 50th anniversary of the state Department of Environmental Conservation, but while the department is celebrating all year, it also has been working as hard as ever, assisting in the state with its coronavirus response.

“DEC personnel from across agency divisions and regions statewide are supporting the state’s response to the COVID-19 public health crisis,” DEC spokeswoman Maureen Wren wrote in an email.

The DEC’s website tells the history of the department.

“During the 1960s, changing public attitudes and the availability of scientific information that hinted at effects from humans, intended and unintended, on the environment led to the realization that government had a strong role to play in preserving resources and keeping the environment healthy,” the website says “This expanded sense of awareness and responsibility led directly to the establishment of the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970.”

The website has a timeline listing the many environmental changes New York has made over the years, some of which we take for granted now.

That list starts right away, in 1970.

“DEC created the first New York endangered species list to protect the biodiversity and wildlife throughout the state,” according to the website.

The state’s Bottle Bill was passed in 1982, requiring deposits on certain beverage containers to promote recycling and discourage littering.

In 1984, the state passed the nation’s first law to reduce acid rain from in-state air pollution sources.

In 2009 the state’s ban on open burning of trash and debris was expanded to all areas of the state to improve air quality and prevent wildfires. According to the website, since the ban was established, spring wildfires have decreased more than 42%.

The state banned fracking (hydraulic fracturing of shale to extract natural gas) in 2015, following a seven-year review.

DEC during pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic has put a hamper on some of the DEC’s planned celebrations, DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said, but it is also a time for the department to show what it is capable of, after 50 years.

“Because we mark these milestones during the unprecedented coronavirus pandemic, today is less a celebration of our accomplishments over the last five decades and more a sober recommitment to move forward using science to guide us,” Seggos wrote in a press release.

Wren said DEC staff have been in the field directly supporting COVID-19 response efforts.

“DEC staff have been instrumental in the early efforts to establish and operate numerous drive-thru testing facilities which have proven critical to the state’s response efforts to identify and mitigate spread of the disease,” she wrote in an email.

Wren also said DEC training with the Incident Command System, which is applied to wide area searches and large wildland fires, have made them a key part of the statewide effort.

“Several DEC Forest Rangers are part of the New York State Incident Management Team, or IMT, an interagency team comprised of personnel from various state, county, and local agencies who represent a variety of disciplines,” Wren wrote.

She said DEC staff are also volunteering with the call center to help individuals filing for unemployment.

She said the DEC continues to perform land and fish population surveys, property inspections, and many other field activities that do not conflict with other social distancing requirements.

“New York is the birthplace of the modern environmental movement,” Seggos wrote. “For five decades, we have used science to guide our decisions, policies, and regulations. The ongoing response to COVID-19 should remind us all to let science guide us to best address the challenges of the next 50 years. I thank DEC’s dedicated staff, past and present, and our many public and private partners, for providing the strong foundation that will help us continue our legacy of environmental protection for all New Yorkers.”

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