About Conservationist
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) publishes Conservationist six times per year. The magazine has subscribers in every state in the union and in many foreign countries. Conservationist is published in February, April, June, August, October, and December. We've published continuously since 1946, making us one of the longest-running outdoor magazines in the country.
How to Subscribe
A one-year subscription to Conservationist shipped to any mailing address in the United States costs $12. Outside the U.S., please add $27.
You can subscribe online by visiting our Subscriptions page. Or: mail your check or money order made payable to Conservationist to:
Conservationist
NYSDEC
625 Broadway
Albany, NY 12233-4502
Understanding Your Subscription
Expiration dates: You can find out when your subscription expires by looking in the upper right-hand corner of your mailing label on the back cover of each magazine. You will find a month and a year corresponding to the date when you will receive your last issue.
Missing issues: You can access information about your subscription by visiting our Customer Service web page. Please have your recent mailing label available as it contains important information about your subscription. To look up your account, you will need your account number and zip code. With the upgrade to our new customer service system, your account number is changing starting with the April/May 2023 issue. To locate your account, you can use the account number from a mailing label prior to April/May 2023. If your account number was 34001000XXXXXXX9 you would use the seven digits represented by an X, dropping the last number.
Contacting Conservationist
By Phone:
To reach our editorial office: (518) 402-8047
By email: magazine@dec.ny.gov
To report issues with our website: Please email us at magazine@dec.ny.gov and use ATT: Web in the subject line. If possible, include the page title or URL in your email for our reference.
Contributing Writers and Photographers
Our magazine focuses on natural resources and outdoor recreation in New York State. We cover a wide array of topics, so it's always best to submit a query letter before sending in your manuscript or photos. We strongly discourage submission of unsolicited article/photo submissions and suggest that the contributor first submit a query outlining the subject matter of the proposed submission. A query can be submitted via e-mail to magazine@dec.ny.gov.
There are specific requirements for submitting unsolicited manuscripts and photographs to the magazine. Due to the large number of materials we receive, it is important that you read our Contributor's Guide and follow the instructions carefully. Submission packages that do not adhere to our guidelines may not be considered. Please allow up to eight weeks for a response. (Note: Conservationist does not accept poetry.)
Deadlines
In general these dates will allow us the time necessary to work with your submission: February issue: deadline Oct. 1. April issue: deadline Jan. 1. June issue: deadline March 1. August issue: deadline May 1. October issue: deadline June 1. December issue: August 1. In some cases, we may want materials in earlier. Don't hesitate to call the editors with questions - to reach our editorial office call (518) 402-8047.
Letters to the Editor
We accept questions and photos for our Letters section via email. However, two suggestions: 1. if a photo attachment is included, please name it something other than "Conservationist" or "Photo 1." Try naming the photo yourlastname1.jpg etc. 2. Please include a relevant subject line in your email; i.e. Smith Letter Frog Pond, etc. Photos must be high resolution (300 dpi at 5 X 7). We really appreciate hearing from our family of readers!
Back Issues and Research Requests
To request back issues or additional copies of an issue, please write to us at Conservationist, NYSDEC, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233-4502, or e-mail us at magazine@dec.ny.gov and include your contact information. Be sure to include: (ATT: Back Issues). If your desired issue is available, the cost is $4 per copy. Please DO NOT include a check or money order with your request. Once we have made contact with you, we will make arrangements for payment.
If you have back issues of Conservationist, we may be interested in specific rare back issues, especially from the 1940s. In general, we have sufficient numbers of most issues. Please write to us at Conservationist, NYSDEC, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233-4502, or e-mail us at magazine@dec.ny.gov and include an inventory of what you have, and if we're interested we will get back to you. We usually suggest donating back issues to a local library, school science teacher, or doctor's office.
If you are looking for a specific article from a back issue, please visit your local library. In some cases, we can help get a copy of a past article, but we have to limit the requests as much as possible. If you've exhausted all avenues, write to us or e-mail us and we'll do the best we can to get you the information you need. A full archive of back issues of Conservationist is also available on the New York State Library website.
If you wish to reprint an article from Conservationist in another publication, please submit a written request to reprint articles to Megan Ciotti. Once you obtain permission, we require being credited as follows: Used by permission from the Month, Year Conservationist, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
Employment with Conservationist
Conservationist is part of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. For jobs and other employment opportunities with New York State government, visit https://statejobs.ny.gov/.