DEC regional director retiring

By Tim Rowland

Bob Stegemann, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation’s director in Region 5, which includes much of the Adirondacks, will retire at the end of March.

Stegemann, who confirmed his retirement in an email, is also the DEC’s representative on the Adirondack Park Agency. He has been the face of the DEC in the Adirondack region, including its efforts to address problems created by throngs of hikers who descend on Keene Valley to access the High Peaks.

His tenure also includes a time that saw a wave of state land purchases and updates to state unit management plans that guide the future use of great tracts of land within the Adirondack Forest Preserve.

A graduate of the State University of New York College of Environmental Sciences and Forestry, Stegemann has served as regional director since 2011. After graduating, he worked as an executive for the Empire State Forest Products Association, and later as a public affairs and sustainability manager for International Paper.