As part of their efforts to police and protect the environment, three New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Environmental Conservation police officers recently rescued a turtle that caught in a fishing net.

Evan Laczi, Emma Carpenter and Kaitlin Grady on Sept. 1 were patrolling Northport Harbor by boat when they found a large abandoned fishing net tangled around floating pilings.

“A diamondback terrapin was spotted entangled in the net,” according to the DEC. “The officers pulled the boat close, cut the terrapin free, and released it back to the water.”

The Northport Harbormaster was notified about the net and arranged to have it removed, preventing other inadvertent catches.

That was one of many examples of ECOs at work in the region’s environment, policing everything from illegal dumping and mining to rescues of wildlife.

They work “deep in our remote wildernesses and in the tight confines of our urban landscapes,” DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said.

In 2018, the state’s 288 ECOs responded to 21,668 calls and worked on cases that resulted in 20,665 tickets or arrests for crimes ranging from deer poaching to solid waste dumping, illegal mining, the black market pet trade and excessive emissions violations.

Terrapin Turtle Rescued in Northport Harbor

As part of their efforts to police and protect the environment, three New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Environmental Conservation police officers recently rescued a turtle that caught in a fishing net.

Evan Laczi, Emma Carpenter and Kaitlin Grady on Sept. 1 were patrolling Northport Harbor by boat when they found a large abandoned fishing net tangled around floating pilings.

“A diamondback terrapin was spotted entangled in the net,” according to the DEC. “The officers pulled the boat close, cut the terrapin free, and released it back to the water.”

The Northport Harbormaster was notified about the net and arranged to have it removed, preventing other inadvertent catches.

That was one of many examples of ECOs at work in the region’s environment, policing everything from illegal dumping and mining to rescues of wildlife.

They work “deep in our remote wildernesses and in the tight confines of our urban landscapes,” DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said.

In 2018, the state’s 288 ECOs responded to 21,668 calls and worked on cases that resulted in 20,665 tickets or arrests for crimes ranging from deer poaching to solid waste dumping, illegal mining, the black market pet trade and excessive emissions violations.

Terrapin Turtle Rescued in Northport Harbor

As part of their efforts to police and protect the environment, three New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Environmental officers recently rescued a turtle that caught in a fishing net.

Environmental Conservation Officers Evan Laczi, Emma Carpenter and Kaitlin Grady on Sept. 1 were patrolling Northport Harbor by boat when they found a large abandoned fishing net tangled around floating pilings.

“A diamondback terrapin was spotted entangled in the net,” according to the DEC. “The officers pulled the boat close, cut the terrapin free, and released it back to the water.”

The Northport Harbormaster was notified about the net and arranged to have it removed, preventing other inadvertent catches.

That was one of many examples of ECOs at work, policing everything from illegal dumping and mining to rescues of wildlife.

They work “deep in our remote wildernesses and in the tight confines of our urban landscapes,” DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said.

In 2018, the state’s 288 ECOs responded to 21,668 calls and worked on cases that resulted in 20,665 tickets or arrests for crimes ranging from deer poaching to solid waste dumping, illegal mining, the black market pet trade and excessive emissions violations.