New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC, DEC, or EnCon) is the department of the New York state government responsible for the conservation, improvement, and protection of natural resources, manages the Adirondack and Catskill Forest Preserve lands, state forest lands, wildlife management areas and various other state owned public lands of New York, is responsible for regulating sport fishing, hunting and trapping, and enforces the state's environmental laws and regulations. Its regulations are compiled in title 6 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. It was founded in 1970, replacing the previous Conservation Department.

NYS DEC had an annual budget of about $899 million for 2013-14, and employs roughly 3,000 people across New York State. It manages over 4 million acres (16,000 km²) of protected state-owned land (including all Forest Preserve holdings in the Adirondack and Catskill parks) and another 910,000 acres (3,682 km²) of privately owned land on which it holds conservation easements. The Department's activities go beyond land management and environmental enforcement to include the publication of a magazine and a state bird atlas, and the operation of 52 campgrounds in the Adirondack and Catskill Parks.