NYS Forest Rangers have countless roles to fill: daring rescuers, committed conservationists, rules enforcers, direction givers, and tireless educators. Join us for an evening of stories from retired and current forest rangers—those whose intimate knowledge of the region is boundless. Through the evening program, the group will share tales of humor and of heroics as well as tips and lessons for all of us who cherish time on the trails of the Adirondacks.

This program is free for all (donations welcome).

Featured NYS Forest Rangers: 

Greg George was a NYS Forest Ranger for 33 years starting in 1977 in Otsego County, NY. He, along with his wife, Jean, son, Joel, and daughter, Maggie, served the public in Blue Mountain Lake from 1984 to 2010.

 

Dell Jeffery followed a nontraditional path to become a Forest Ranger. He enlisted in the Army in 1976 and was on active duty for three years. In 1983 he became a full-time National Guardsman in Syracuse. He retired from the National Guard in 1996. He then worked for the Office of Children and Family Services for the State of New York leading adjudicated teenagers on wilderness trips year-round in the Adirondack Park.  During those years, he spent 150 days a year, winter and summer, camping and leading adventure skills. He became a Forest Ranger 2004, graduated the Forest Ranger Academy in 2005 at the age of 50. In 2007 he became the Newcomb Ranger covering the Southern High Peaks.  He retired in 2017; it was time to give someone else the opportunity to enjoy the best job in world.

Lt. Megan LaPierre has been with the NYS Forest Rangers since 2007. She started in Dutchess County (where both of her children were born) and transferred to the Adirondacks in 2014. Her Rangers districts up here have been the Town of Franklin, the St. Regis Canoe Area, and the High Peaks. She became the Lt. for Zone A in 2021 and is still in that position. She is also a lead instructor for the Rangers statewide Medical program in which she trains all of the Rangers throughout the state. Mother of 2 (4 if you include her fur babies) and married to Joe LaPierre, which provides endless adventures outside of Ranger world!

Jason Scott grew up in the Catskill Mountains where he enjoyed hiking, skiing, camping, trout fishing, and hunting. He graduated from SUNY ESF with a BA in Environmental Studies and was hired as a NYS Forest Ranger in 2004. Jason spent the first three years of his career working in the lower Hudson Valley and transferred to Hamilton County in 2007. He lives in Blue Mountain Lake with his wife Cat Scott and their two beautiful girls Charlee and Kylee.