NY S01365

Amends Environmental Conservation Law Section 9-0105(18) to authorize the forest ranger force to establish, direct, and maintain a training and credentialing program for volunteer wild land search and rescue personnel.

Volunteer personnel trained under this program will assist and respond alongside the forest ranger force to search for lost and missing persons in wild, remote, and forested areas of the state.

Expands existing search and rescue authority of the forest ranger force to include organizing volunteer search operations, while maintaining that criminal investigations and fugitive searches remain under appropriate law enforcement agency jurisdiction.

Takes effect immediately upon enactment.