Taylor M. Della Rocco of Berne is among 31 newly graduated Environmental Conservation Officers.

The Basic School from which Della Rocco graduated was held at the Office of Public Protection's Training Academy in Pulaski, Oswego County, which runs along the Salmon River.

The Academy began Feb. 12 and ran for 28 weeks. Training and coursework include environmental conservation law, criminal procedure, vehicle and traffic laws, physical conditioning, firearms, wildlife identification, emergency vehicle operations, search and rescue, land navigation, boating, and wildfire suppression.

ECOs, originally called Game Protectors, were first appointed in 1880 and undertake actions ranging from investigating deer and checking fishing licenses on local waterways to conducting surveillance on corporate chemical dumping. Across the state in 2016, ECOs responded to 26,400 calls and issued 22,150 tickets for crimes including deer poaching, corporate toxic dumping, illegal mining, the black market pet trade, and excessive emissions violations.

The graduating class will join 275 ECOs serving across the state. Recruits in this newest class were selected from an eligible list of qualifications and passing scores generated from the most recent Civil Service exam, which was given in 2013.