Should forest rangers be armed?

By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
 HOULTON, Maine — Should Maine’s Forest Rangers be allowed to carry firearms as part of their duties in the state?
That is the question currently being discussed in Augusta with the Maine State Legislature. LD 297, an Act to require forest rangers to be trained in order to allow them to carry firearms, has been a popular topic of conversation in recent months.    The bill was tabled on Dec. 11 by the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee in Augusta after issues of how the bill would be funded arose. The bill’s status is currently up in the air.
A task force was created by Gov. Paul LePage to review the matter and a legislative committee voted 9-2 Jan. 15 to move the bill forward. It remains to be seen if the appropriations committee will support the measure and provide the funds needed to purchase firearms and train the rangers.
Forest Ranger Jeremiah Crockett of Houlton certainly hopes the funding is found. A second-generation forest ranger, Crockett has been a Maine forest ranger with the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry for the past 14 years.
During that time, Crockett has had a couple of close calls investigating wood harvesting complaints where the situation could have turned ugly. In those instances, he said, a firearm would have gone a long way to aiding his ability to diffuse the situation.
“There are a handful of incidents in my 14 years where I felt endangered to the point where a firearm would have been an advantage,” he said.
Two of those incidents were routine harvest inspections where he was meeting with a landowner or a harvester where the conversation degraded to the point of conflict. Crockett was reluctant to talk too much about those incidents.
“Let’s just say my life was put in harm’s way,” he said.
Crockett was one of 30 forest rangers who went to Augusta Jan. 15 to show their support for LD 297. While he did not have an opportunity to speak on the bill, having roughly half of the state’s forest rangers on hand to show support for the bill was an important step, he said.
Recent opposition to arming the forest rangers has focused on economics, with some citing the cost at between $142,000 and $2.1 million.
“There is a large discrepancy in the price tag,” Crockett said. “It will go to the appropriations committee next and they need to come up with the funding. The difficulty is, our department heads and the director of the Maine Forest Service have not been willing to put up the money for this.”
The governor’s task force proposed three options for price, according to Crockett. The first option was to do nothing, which would provide no funding. The second option was to provide firearms, vests and related equipment and training at the Criminal Justice Academy for $142,000. The third option was $2.1 million to send all 75 forest rangers in the state through the full training regimen.
Crockett said about one third have already gone through that training, while others have had some experience through the Criminal Justice Academy.
Even if LD 279 makes it out of the appropriations committee, Crockett said Gov. LePage has gone on record saying he would veto the bill. The governor had offered a compromise proposal of arming only 10 forest rangers.
“We look at it as an officer safety concern and to arm only 10 of us does not address that concern,” Crockett said.
Many confuse forest rangers and game wardens. Game wardens are responsible for hunting and fishing laws.
Others mistakenly assume that a forest rangers’ job is simply to put out forest fires. The core mission of Maine forest rangers is fire suppression. The group was created in 1891 by the major landowners of the state, to provide forest fire protection.
However, through the years, the role of a forest ranger has evolved to include natural resource law enforcement (such as forest practices, monitoring and timber harvesting), investigating timber thefts and fire law enforcement.
Back in the late 1990s, the issue of ranger safety was brought to the forefront when forest rangers went to their supervisors and asked them to consider allowing the group to carry firearms. A private panel was created at that time to study the issue and that group’s recommendation was to arm the rangers and provide bullet-proof vests.
A bill was passed to allow rangers to carry firearms in early 2000 and a few rangers were trained and began carrying weapons and vests.
“With the increased responsibilities we were given, we felt our job was inherently dangerous,” Crockett said. “We wanted to receive firearms and training, because by statute, we are law enforcement officers with the full powers of arrest, the same as a County Sheriff. We don’t make an arrest, however, unless there is imminent danger to ourselves or a third party. Our policies are very specific.”
But then in 2001, LD 1188 came along, which prohibited rangers, who were then under the Department of Conservation, from possessing or owning a firearm. This required the agency to sell all the firearms and equipment that the rangers had purchased and turn that money over to the state.
“There was a change because of that, which put more restrictive policies in place,” Crockett said. “We are encouraged to tactfully retreat whenever possible if faced with a conflict. We are encouraged to back out of those situations, which is not always possible.”
Currently, any active ranger is not allowed to have a gun in their personal possession, including hunting rifles, Crockett said.
The qualifications to become a forest ranger are far more stringent than other law enforcement officers. Every ranger is required to have at least a two-year degree.
“Beyond that, we love our jobs,” Crockett said. “The other agencies don’t have the time, manpower or expertise to do what we do.”