The 42-year-old’s death has sparked a 3,700-signature petition calling on NYS DEC to fix a ‘broken system’ that lost track of rangers in the backcountry
By James Odato
A group of close friends of Brendan Jackson, a New York assistant forest ranger found dead by his fellow rangers last month, is appealing to newly installed Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Amanda Lefton to fix a broken system of keeping track of personnel employed in the backcountry.
The Adirondack Explorer thanks its advertising partners. Become one of them.
In a change.org petition and in a letter sent to Lefton on Thursday, the friends implore the DEC to improve the way the department keeps tabs of rangers, stewards and other personnel overnighting in the woods.
Campaign for safety reform
The petition has drawn more than 3,700 signatures since it was posted July 7, the one-month anniversary of Jackson’s last contact with the DEC. That Saturday, he signed off for the day at 7:22 p.m. from his campsite at Duck Hole in the southern High Peaks near Newcomb.
The petition said backwoods workers like Jackson, 42, who rangers discovered in his tent decomposing June 15, deserve a system that keeps them on their employer’s radar.
The Adirondack Explorer thanks its advertising partners. Become one of them.
Tracking software abandoned
The petition, and letter, contend that the state failed to implement a system long called for to augment tools for dispatchers to track and know who is in the woods on duty and not at home signed out.
“The unnoticed death of AFR Jackson illustrates the need to increase resources and proper protocols to keep our rangers safe,” wrote Danielle Carr, Jackson’s friend for decades.
“DEC Dispatch used to have employee tracking software but abandoned it several years ago,” the petition states. It adds that dispatchers emailing about the lack of tracking software often mentioned Jackson’s backwoods work when illustrating why it would be good to have such technology. “But this software was not implemented,” the petition says.
The Adirondack Explorer thanks its advertising partners. Become one of them.
“No one noticed he was missing”
Carr said DEC dispatchers should have gotten another 11 messages from Jackson during the eight days he was missing, because that’s how he would check in, but no one noticed. She helped trigger the search by contacting DEC personnel on June 14 to ask about Jackson’s contact with DEC.
The reasons for publicizing concerns, said another friend, Sam Prestidge, is to help Jackson’s family and to make sure staff “get home in as good or better condition than they started the day and no one has to go through what we have and the family has.” Jackson’s family has supported the initiatives but has asked not to be contacted, Prestidge said.
The Adirondack Explorer thanks its advertising partners. Become one of them.
State promises investigation
Asked for a response to the group’s contentions, a DEC official provided a comment from Lefton, who attended a funeral service for Jackson in Delmar last month.
She said news of Jackson’s death comes with “great sadness” and that he “was a longtime and valued DEC employee.”
“We offer our heartfelt sympathies to AFR Jackson’s family, co-workers, and all who loved him,” she added.
She did not refute any of the statements in the change.org post, and a DEC administration official stated that authorities are looking into internal controls. “As this investigation continues, DEC is evaluating all processes and procedures to ensure appropriate oversight of assistant forest rangers and will implement any necessary enhancements identified, which is routine procedure whenever incidents occur,” the official said.
“Cracks in the system”
The friends also contend that Jackson, who had been working as an assistant ranger since he left college about 15 years ago, did not show any sign of distress, illness or discomfort in the days before his death. Carr filed a deposition with state police stating she saw no indications of suicidal thoughts or impulses with Jackson, with whom she spoke with at least weekly.
He lived at her Rainbow Lake residence when not camping in the woods or bunking at a DEC quarters at Great Camp Santanoni in Newcomb, according to a ranger friend.
She and the other friends behind the petition met when they joined the outings club at Paul Smith’s College as students.
Ranger Jamison Martin, a delegate for the ranger’s union, said the friends’ claims and statements are facts. “There’s definitely cracks in the system,” he said. “They were made known; nothing was done . . . Dispatchers brought it up repeatedly.”
He said he has been positively impressed with Lefton’s support for rangers. She showed up not only at the service for Jackson, but at the grim search for him in Essex County.
“An anomaly” among his peers: Living in the woods, even on days off
“He was an absolute major asset for us,” said Martin, who also went to Paul Smith’s and was friends with Jackson for years. He said Jackson was so well-acquainted with the Adirondack wilderness that he was “an anomaly” among DEC rangers with his “intimate knowledge,” living in the woods even on days off from his backcountry duties.
Tony Goodwin, a longtime Adirondack trail and mapmaker, said he worked for years with Jackson on developing a map of the High Peaks, the region that includes the 46 mountains that rise 4,000 feet, all of which Jackson had climbed. He said Jackson had spotted errors in previous maps Goodwin had developed for the Adirondack Mountain Club, particularly about designated campsites. So, Goodwin recruited Jackson to proofread all subsequent maps. “He had an absolute phenomenal memory,” Goodwin said.
Goodwin did not sign the petition calling on changes by the DEC. He said even the most robust tracking system could not have prevented the untimely death.
“It seems as though his failure to sign in should have been picked up earlier than it was,” Goodwin said. The overall outcome wouldn’t have changed, but it would have allowed the body to have gotten a more thorough autopsy.”
Martin said there was nothing to indicate foul play and that Jackson’s state-issued Ford F-250 truck was found at the Upper Works entrance to the Duck Hole trail. He said authorities arranged for a lab to examine tissue from Jackson’s remains, but the analysis report may take months.
Photo at the top: Assistant Forest Ranger Brendan Jackson (courtesy of Danielle Carr)
We don’t trust the DEC since they deny introducing cats & wolves so why should we trust them now? Was he attacked by a bear? If he was , I bet the DEC won’t tell us.
Please don’t use this tragic event as an excuse to push your gripes and conspiracies.
RIP to a great man and true Adirondacker. I hope some sort of memorial is created in Brendans honor so people years from now will know about him and all he did.
Thank you, I didn’t know this man but feel he was a kindred spirit and very at home with nature and loved it as much as I and my husband. I feel sadness that he is gone so young and also feel that he contributed so very very much to the rangers, his community and sharing his vast knowledge.
Yes. They definitely need a tracking system for Rangers. Safety first. Right? RIP Mr. Jackson.
This is indeed distressing information. Even the Army had the “buddy system”. I am indeed terribly sorry about the loss of Brendan. But this seems to be a huge gap in DEC policy regarding the backcountry safety of their employees/volunteers. I hope it is addressed immediately.
Those DEC staff that supervised AFR Jackson knew his work schedule and should have been checking the Dispatch blotter page to make sure he was checking in and out of service. This did not happen.
Sad as it is, he passed away and the place that he loved and had intimate knowledge. God bless this man. He was too young to go.
It’s a shame a simple satellite phone , a mere $ 1500 investment in each rangers hands is not on the planned budget for men and women who risk their lives every day in the back country from predators or bad weather that can blow in at a moments notice. We have a NYS budget of 254 billion, and this simple satellite phone is somehow not in the budget or plan for these hardworking rangers.
As a boy scout and girl scouts leader we do not go into the back country with out this device and also having backup when lives are at risk.
Especially a single employee out in the woods .
Anything can happen and usually does .
Let’s not have this happen again, please
Sincerely
Chuck Weinlein
BSA troop 3072 twin Rivers council
A system needed not only for the rangers but visitors too. There must be a simple way to track ANYONE who is out there. EVERYTHING nowadays has a barcode on it. Is there some way to make a barcode that can be activated when people go in the woods? Such as 2 of same #. One stays in park office & other 1 is attached to the person. In some way. Then i they don’t show up, the one in the office can be scanned into computer to find the matching number. Now I have not the slightest idea how to go about making something like this or similar to this. I wish I did! Our cell phones can be tracked when there is cell service. There must be some way an engineer can adapt something like that to prevent this from happening again! And don’t forget this man had years of experience in that backcountry.
I’m sorry this man died in the backcountry while working for DEC, but please don’t use it as a reason to increase surveillance on park visitors wishing to escape into the woods on their own terms.
There’s already enough agencies tracking my movements on a daily basis.
Apparently he passed away in the environment he was at peace with, is it possible he was seriously ill and not physically challenged and chose not to share his illness with anyone .
Annual physical and medical checkups should be a requirement for men and women employed in the great outdoors, perhaps it might save a life
All Backcountry rangers should have a delorme Inreach. I take one when I go hunting in the wilderness alone. You can send messages and it will pinpoint your location, great if you need to use the 911 feature. If he would have been able to press a button, help would have been on its way. You can also use it to check in with people. So valuable.
Why don’t we find out why no one checked on him and who they are? Seems we are back to cell phone towers needed and tracking systems for all especially, rangers!!! Like the previous person said, $254 billion dollars and we don’t take care of our state employees, or fellow New Yorkers? Mmmm
As a person that read hundreds of his online posts and had direct online discussions with him, I know he would appreciate only thoughtful, respectful, knowledgeable and educated discussion that would lead to meaningful and helpful reform. He is beloved in the online community for his amazing advice. He was always helpful and always a gentlemen.
When discussing his situation, please conduct yourselves with in the manner that such wonderful person would appreciate.
My heart goes out to Brendan’s family, friends and coworkers. A simple garmin gps could have helped this situation. You can send and receive messages with these wonderful little tools and they also have an SOS button. If he was feeling distressed all he would have had to do is push a button and help may have gotten there in time. Most of these units cost under $500.00. A terrible tragedy and it needs to be fixed before another one of our beloved rangers ends up in the same situation. RIP Mr. Jackson
New York had plenty of mo ey to house illegals in hotels etc etc etc…….. but not enough to implement a system that would have saved this man’s life. Every scumbag politician in that state should be jailed for life.