In each of these new districts, district rangers were hired to represent the Commission and oversee the activities of the locally appointed fire wardens . In some cases, it would be years before permanent forest rangers were appointed. Once appointments took place, they were not in the numbers of rangers or of fire towers that existed at the time in the Adirondacks and Catskills. The staffing would average about one forest ranger per county who would rely heavily on fire wardens in time of high fire danger. This variation in staffing would carry through to the present times.

1927 brought more changes. The Conservation Commission was renamed the Conservation Department. With this new name came a division of responsibilities. Previously, nearly all of the field work and oversight was the responsibility of the District Forest Rangers. This change saw the creation three bureaus within the Division of Lands and Forests. Forester Kinnie Williams was appointed to the position of Superintendent of Forest Fire Control, William D. Mulholland to Recreational Development and A. F. Amadon to the Bureau of Reforestation.

In an effort to consolidate state government, two new divisions, the Division of Parks and the Division of Water Power and Control were added. The new Division of Parks brought together a variety of organizations, councils and commissions under one head and would remain a part of the Conservation Department for another forty years, until 1968 when it became the Office of Parks and Recreation.

Along with these changes, new and distinctive badges were issued to every district ranger, forest ranger, forest fire observer and railroad fire inspector.

By 1930 there were twelve districts in all. Districts 1 through 6, those in the central Adirondacks and Catskills, had in their employ: 6 district rangers, 66 forest rangers, 58 forest fire observers and 200 Fire Wardens.

The remaining districts had 6 district rangers, 13 forest rangers, 10 forest fire observers and 2000 fire wardens. In these districts, it was not uncommon for fire wardens to issue burning permits and patrol for fire during dry periods without any appreciable compensation. Future staffing in these districts was not in the same numbers as in the Adirondacks and Catskills, averaging about one forest ranger position per county. Therefore, these districts relied heavily on fire wardens during times of high fire danger.

In 1932 the forest ranger force demonstrated some of its fire control techniques and exhibited several vehicles for then Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt. Pictured here are photos of that occasion.

That same year the ranger force had a noticeable change in their uniforms. Most notable was probably the change from the campaign-style hat to the tan colored Stetson and the addition of a heavy winter coat.

The Emergency Conservation Work Act was signed into law on March 31, 1933 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, marking the birth of the Civilian Conservation Corps. The Corps was created to provide relief from the high unemployment stemming from the Great Depression and secondly, to carry out a broad natural resource conservation program on national, state and municipal lands.

There were over 100 CCC Camps in New York between 1933 and 1942, when the Corps was dismantled. Some of these camps worked on a variety of State Conservation Department lands completing numerous and valuable projects. On State Reforestation lands, mostly in the Southern Tier and Hudson Valley, they erected 20 fire towers. These fire towers, like this one on Jersey Hill in Allegany County, were not necessarily an extension of the Department's existing fire tower net, but rather, they were strategically placed to keep a vigil over large holding of State owned lands.

From the teens to the sixties the Commission and later the Department, maintained and staffed three interior ranger stations at Shattuck Clearing, Lake Colden and West Canada Lakes.
In later years there were other interior facilities like Cedar Lakes, John's Brook and Marcy Dam that were staffed seasonally by recreation personnel. Their functions included light trail and leanto maintenance and providing aid and information to the public. Because of their locations and the nature of their work, they were often called "rangers."

Pictured here is the cabin at Shattuck Clearing as it appeared in 1951. The first to serve at Shattuck was Forest Ranger Arthur Duane (1915 to 1916) and the last was Forest Ranger David Ames (1964). Following that year Shattuck was no longer staffed by forest rangers.

The last to serve at West Canada was Forest Ranger Gary Lee and his wife Karen who were stationed there until July 15, 1966.

Living in such a remote area presented many challenges. One such, shown here, would be doing the laundry without the conveniences of electricity or running water.

Following the departure of the forest rangers from these interior headquarters, they were subsequently staffed by part-time forest recreation personnel whose function was to educate and aid the public.

Search and rescue was not a formal part of the ranger's duties but because of their knowledge of the wooded and remote areas of the state, they were often called upon when emergencies arose. Such was the case on Friday, December 29, 1934 when American Airlines Condor 166, similar to that pictured here, went down in a snowstorm in the southwestern Adirondacks.

The plane, bound from Syracuse to Albany with four on board, encountered heavy snow and icing from a storm that swept down from the north. The pilot was able to radio the airport at Albany of their emergency and approximate location before the crash, but had no indication that the message got through.

Miraculously, but unbeknown to searchers, all four people on board survived the crash with only minor injuries. An air search, involving planes from commercial airlines, the Army Air Corps and National Guard, ensued on Saturday but by dark had proved unsuccessful.

Finally, late Sunday, 45 hours after the crash, Condor 166 was located by a search plane. While one plane and then another circled the crash site, two search parties entered the woods in sub-zero temperatures with 20 inches of snow on the ground. Heading toward the circling planes they hoped to reach the survivors. But when the second plane finally broke off and returned to the airport the search parties lost their point of reference and backtracked to the road.

On Monday morning, a group of forest rangers and volunteers under the direction of District Ranger Ernest Blue, reached the site finding all four safe but suffering from the cold. They had built a hut out of airplane parts, had a small fire going and did have some supplies that were dropped to them the previous day. By Monday afternoon, all were safely out of the woods after spending almost three days on the side of Wilder Mountain, just three miles north of Morehouseville on State Route 8. The wreckage still remains on Wilder Mountain. Pictured here is a portion of the ill-fated aircraft.

More can be learned about this emergency and many other, involving the State's forest rangers in a book entitled " At The Mercy of the Mountains" by Peter Bronski.

1937 brought what was purportedly the first nationwide forest fire prevention campaign. While the individual states had issued forest fire warnings for years, this was a new endeavor by the US Forest Service and done at the behest of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

With approximately forty million acres lost to fire each year across the nation, this campaign featured Uncle Sam as a forest ranger emphasizing people's responsibility in protecting the forest.

This poster was created by the noted illustrator James Montgomery Flagg who was famous for the Uncle Sam recruiting posters of World War 1. This poster depicts Uncle Sam in a forest ranger uniform as he warns "Your Forests - Your Fault - Your Loss."

The war had an impact on the efficiency of the fire detection system. Many observers either signed up or were drafted into the service leaving the Conservation Department short of experienced observers. The system of triangulations was initiated to make the best use of inexperienced people.

Each ranger and district office had a map like the one shown above. When two or more towers could see the smoke from a fire, their azimuths were plotted and where the stings intersected was the approximate location of the fire.

It would not be until 1950, when the living symbol of forest fire prevention would arrive. During a devastating forest fire in the Lincoln National Forest in the El Capitan Mountains of New Mexico a number of fire fighters were temporarily trapped by flames and sought refuge on rocky slope for more than an hour. When they emerged they discovered a small bear cub with its hind legs badly burned. The fire fighters, who nicknamed the little bear, Hotfoot Teddy, turned him over to the local Game Warden Ray Bell.

Warden Bell, in turn, took the bear cub to a veterinarian in Santa Fe for treatment of his burns. Teddy was returned to the Bell's who nursed him back to health. Warden Bell contacted the Chief of the Forest Service, offering the cub to the agency with the understanding that the small bear would be dedicated to a publicity program of fire prevention and conservation.

Smokey has remained the national fire prevention symbol for some 75 years. At 65, in 2009, his message has only changed slightly to:

"Only You Can Prevent Wildfires"

On June 23, 1946 a small notice appeared in the Plattsburg Press Republican announcing the opening of Paul Smith's College, a non-profit institution offering "Two-year Terminal Courses in Resort Management and Forestry Management. Campus life with excellent accommodations were afforded at the famous Paul Smith's resort on St. Regis Lake in the Adirondacks. G.I.'s and high school graduates eligible for Freshman Class, Fall semester September 23."

And so began the second forestry school in the Adirondacks. For many years to follow, Paul Smith's College and the Ranger School at Wanakena provided many viable candidates for the New York State Forest Ranger Force.

In early 1947 the Conservation Department's Division of Lands and Forests went through a major reorganization. Previously, each bureau was for all purposes autonomous answering only to the bureau superintendent in Albany. Similarly, each bureau was organized and headquartered differently across the State.

With the enactment of the Forest Practice Act and greater emphasis on forestry, the Division was organized into fifteen Forest Districts. Each was overseen by the newly created position of district forester who was responsible for the administration of all the various bureau activities within the district. In several cases, district rangers were promoted to these new positions as both titles required a degree in forestry. District Ranger William Petty was appointed to the position of District Forester, District 9 at Saranac Lake, Maynard Fisk, District 10 at Northville, Frank Jadwin, District 13 at Middletown, Earl Brockway, District 14 at Poughkeepsie and Stan Farmer, District 11 at Lake George.

The forest ranger's fire prevention, detection and control responsibilities did not include the entire state but only those portions shaded on the above map. Rangers were, however, dispatched to locations outside

For the first time, all of the Bureaus; Forest Fire Control, Forest Pest Control, Camps and Trails, Nurseries, Forest Investigations, Forestry and the Forest Surveyors were headquartered at one location; at the newly established District Offices.