Simko testifies in favor of bill to arm forest rangers

By Mike Lange
Staff Writer

    AUGUSTA — The two year-old quest to pass legislation that would allow Maine’s forest rangers to carry firearms took another step forward last week.
    Three bills are under consideration by the Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee this year related to forest service safety, and a recent public hearing drew a packed house on the measures.
    Among those testifying in favor of the bills was Greenville Town Manager John Simko.

    Simko is also a firefighter and EMT who interacts with law enforcement officials frequently. He told the panel that the Moosehead Lake Region “is not only a favorite tourist destination for law-abiding citizens, but also for criminals.  The Greenville Police Department annually encounters fugitives from justice in Greenville, each travelling from elsewhere in the world.”
    Simko said that it’s not uncommon for forest rangers on a routine assignment “to find individuals who are under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol, are in possession of visible or concealed weapons and who may or may not have pending warrants for their arrest. These individuals may become violent at any time … Unfortunately forest rangers are law enforcement officers without firearms or bulletproof vests.”
    Simko also urged the committee to “include the cost for arming and training Maine forest rangers to an equal standard with other Maine law enforcement officials from the general fund, not the large landowner tax. That way, all of Maine benefits from more and better trained law enforcement officers, not just large landowners.” 
    Sen. Scott Cyrway, a retired detective with the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Department, agreed. “Rangers deal with the same criminal element on a daily basis as members of law enforcement do and they need the same protections because when things go bad, it happens very quickly and there isn’t always time for a tactical retreat,” Cyrway told the committee. “Thinking back, had I not had the proper training, a vest, and a weapon, I would have been incredibly uncomfortable doing my job – the job I was tasked to do by the agency I worked for.”
    Among those opposing the bills was ACF Commissioner Walter Whitcomb, who echoed Gov. Paul LePage’s proposal to arm only seven rangers statewide. “Protection and enhancement of Maine’s forest resources continues to be the most critical activity of the forestry bureau of our department,” Whitcomb said. “The Bureau of Forestry has trained its forest rangers to avoid and defuse situations. Any bill provisions to arm more than seven forestry employees contradict the administration’s direction to tone down the law enforcement aspects of the forest rangers’ duties. It raises the bar on putting all forest rangers at risk.”
    A work session on the bills was scheduled for Tuesday, April 8.