Longest-serving DEC commissioner reflects on Adirondack impacts

Basil Seggos bids farewell to DEC: Heralds ranger growth, mourns losses

By Gwendolyn Craig

During his final hours as the state’s top environmental official, Basil Seggos reflected on those he calls the state’s “Swiss army knife,” its forest ranger force.

With an upcoming ranger academy expected in May and a new class of 38 that joined the ranks in 2023, there have been benchmarks of progress the outgoing commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Conservation is proud to talk about. But the death of two colleagues by suicide still weighs heavy.

Capt. Christopher Kostoss, a state forest ranger in the Adirondacks for 23 years, died by suicide in 2022. About a year later, David Cornell, assistant director of the DEC’s Division of Forest Protection, and a former ranger patrolling part of the Adirondacks for over two decades, also took his own life.

“I think I am leaving the agency in a better place than where I found it, but it still haunts me that I lost people under my watch during my tenure,” Seggos said.

While the department has taken steps in addressing the mental health of personnel, Seggos hopes the conversation around seeking help will continue, not just for rangers but for everyone. It’s something he spoke about with the Adirondack Explorer on Monday afternoon before leaving his post of eight and a half years.

Seggos, 49, is the longest serving DEC commissioner and served under former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Gov. Kathy Hochul. Sean Mahar, executive deputy commissioner of the DEC, started as interim commissioner on Monday. 

This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity. 

What are you hoping to see for forest rangers in the future? Do they need more resources or are you feeling comfortable with what they have?

A: I made the forest rangers a priority. We’ve had a record number of classes in my tenure. I’ve done hard work to get our next class assembled, which will be at some point this spring, likely in May. My job, in part, was to increase the size of the ranks to meet some of the incredible demand that they have on them. Not just search and rescue, but wildfires, education, the ambassadors of the agency, the really incredible work that they do on the police side as well.

We’ve plowed through some bureaucracy on gear. (There are) some additional holdups on procurement that kind of always stymied us and other agencies from pursuing the kinds of jackets and things like that we want to provide them. We’re getting through most of that.

They’re really able to pull off incredible work, and it’s been my honor to lead them.

There were two ranger deaths by suicide. I know you spoke to Dan Clark at the Times Union about this. You said that you wondered if you could have done things differently looking back, and I just wondered what you meant by that.

A: I took those two deaths by suicide very personally. We have a lot of staff, but I try my best to know the people in the agency and I did know both of those rangers. It was a great tragedy for them and their families, but also for many people here including me. When something like that happens, whatever the problem, I always ask myself if there’s something more I could have done. In the case of the two individuals who died by suicide, I don’t know the answer to that. I asked the question of myself because that’s the kind of standard I hold myself to, that is, not just floating through this job with reckless abandon. I really have put a huge value on the people of the agency.

I had a discussion with staff, with a ranger, about mental health many years ago, and that helped me to put in place some more standardized training for the agency. Standardized mental health training (is now) a part of the curriculum of the (ranger) academy, one of the earliest adoptions of that approach of any police agency in the state, to where we’re not just standardizing it, but also destigmatizing it. What I can do as a leader is to destigmatize the issue. In my time in the Army we spent quite a lot of time on that issue as well, just destigmatizing it, giving people a safe place to talk about problems, investing in mental health resources both within the agency and outside the agency.

We’ve made progress in society, but there’s more to be done. It’s not unlike breaking a leg, having a mental health issue as a medical condition. We need to stop thinking about these things as taboo or scary. We need to welcome the conversation that ultimately helps people get through these conditions.

You had an important announcement about the protection of Follensby Pond to wrap up your time at DEC. What are your thoughts about land protections in the Adirondacks during your time as commissioner, and where do you see the park’s contribution in the future?

A: When I was assistant secretary for the environment under the governor’s office starting in 2012, 2013, the first issue was the Finch (Pruyn) acquisition, working with then Commissioner (Joe) Martens. We were able to work together on that, secure the first piece of it, and then becoming commissioner in 2015, I was able to see through probably the trickiest part of that, the Boreas acquisition. I look back at that obviously as a great moment for the agency and for the Adirondacks. We not only purchased this incredibly beautiful piece of property, but we’re able to construct a management plan in such a way as to provide that kind of balance of access and privilege and protection, preservation. So that for me was a real win for this agency.

That being the one side of the book jacket, the other side being Follensby. There really were a range of potential ways that the agency could have gone. The difficulties of that potential acquisition or easement just fed into some delays over the years. So I spent quite a bit of time working with my team and with Nature Conservancy, and, of course many others now on a plan that, again, helps to strike that balance. We’re setting aside the most ecologically vulnerable portion of the property, while also enhancing access for the river portion. And then I think that once that’s all ironed out, once the closing happens, once we put in place the long-term management scheme and begin making the kinds of upgrades to roads or any kind of restoration that might be needed, I think that’s going to be a real asset for New York. I’m very proud of what we’ve done.

You’ve had a lot of different work happening around visitor management in the Adirondacks. Any hints on where those initiatives, like the pilot reservation system at the Adirondack Mountain Reserve, and your work with Otak, stands and what the next commissioner will have to address?

A: I think we’ve gotten through the worst of the historic, quote, “overuse” problems. I don’t mean to say that the usage is going down, but we spent so much time with all the various stakeholder groups to chart a path forward —relying on all the members of the High Peaks Advisory Group and many other stakeholders, the parking pilot (at AMR), shuttle buses, enhanced parking, signage, enforcing the law working with multiple agencies, making investments in Adirondack Loj Road and highlighting other aspects of the park. Nationally people have rediscovered their backyards. And I think that’s the Adirondacks for us, Catskills. Local tourism has really boomed in the outdoors not only during COVID.

I think in some ways we’ve created an institutional foundation to begin guiding us. I hope it’s the right path forward. You have passionate voices out there and you want to make sure that you’re striking that balance amongst all of them. Visitation in the backcountry in a sustainable way, helping to guide through investments that we make, but also visitation to hamlets, which for many years have been struggling for a path forward on tourism revenue. I think we’re getting there but we’re not there yet.

What do you think you’ll be most remembered for in your time as commissioner?

A: I’ve very much been an internal advocate for the agency for the state on environmental issues, but internally, always fighting for more resources and that’s not usually getting headlines. But I think if you look at DEC now versus where we were, we are a much different agency. We’re a bigger agency. We’ve got incredible resources that we never had. When I started, we were at $136 million on the EPF (Environmental Protection Fund). We’re now at $400 million. There was no bond act. We almost had no other capital sources. Our staff levels went from 2,800 up to I think 3,300. Those are the real wins, because the demands on this agency are so extraordinary. I think one of my legacies is sort of an indirect legacy. It’s the reconstruction of our staff, the rebuilding of our staff and our agency and that I think will pay dividends for the Adirondacks’ work for many, many years to come. At least I hope so.

And I think maybe my personal style is my legacy. I tried to create an open-door policy in this agency and tried to bring in as many voices as possible.

Any words of advice for the incoming commissioner, especially in relation to working in the Adirondacks?

A: Obviously, enjoy the job. Have fun. Try not to take yourself too seriously. And that’s always a good approach in life. But I think coming in with eyes wide open, open ears, recognizing that you don’t know everything, that you have to listen to your staff. You’ve got to follow the science. You’ve got to talk to as many stakeholders as possible and always try to achieve that balance in some ways. It isn’t always 50/50. You can’t come in with a rigid approach to this job. I think that that will ensure that you’re a short timer. 

I think also just remembering that every single day in this job, you’ve got more ability to do good for the public then you could in weeks or months or years on the outside. I think just respecting the gravity of this position and the importance of this agency when it comes to all of the objectives of New York State and not just the environmental objectives, but economic development objectives, the social and civil rights objectives. We are a part of a larger government, but we’re also a powerful arm of that and the commissioner has to find his or her way through that reality and look for ways to improve the lives of people every single day. You can do that and just treasure those moments. I certainly did.

Any hints on what’s next for you?

A: Hopefully a few chapters yet to be written. The next chapter is vacation. I’m counting down the moments until I go on a six-week break. And then I’ll get back at it. I’ll be making an announcement at some point over the next couple of months about my next job, but I’m going to stay in the environmental field and continue working on this kind of work, dedicate myself to environmental issues, climate change, energy. And I’d love to spend more time working on Ukraine issues. There are things that are very important to me that are environmental in nature I can dedicate my time to, ensuring that I’m leaving this place better off for my kids.

Are you staying in New York?

A: Yeah. My kids are embedded in the school system here and my wife’s the general counsel of Siena College. So, we are New Yorkers.

Will we be seeing you in the Adirondacks at all?

A: I don’t even want to tell you how badly I need to begin focusing on my 46er list. I think I’m up to about six or seven. I don’t really care that I’m checking a huge list off, but I do really want to see the places that I’ve talked about now for the past eight and a half years.

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