Rangers & Patrols

Preak Tachan Station is one of two manned forest rangers outposts within the 18,073-hectare JW-Concession area that is accessible by boat and along a narrow 6.5 km forested trail from National Road 48.

The station is manned throughout the year by eight Forest Rangers, employed by both Wildlife Alliance and the Ministry of Environment of Cambodia. The ranger station is strategically located in a position near the river that has long been the most accessible point for poachers and loggers to transport their stolen goods out of the pristine forests of Botum Sakor National Park.

Main activities of the Forest Rangers are the patrolling of the surrounding evergreen rainforest and boundaries of the JW-Concession area, as well as assessment of the natural environment.

During your stay at Cardamom Tented Camp, you will go on a 2-hour forest hike and a 1.5-hour kayak journey up the Preak Tachan River, before you return to camp on foot or canoe in time for lunch.

It is also possible to visit the nearby Preak Tachan ranger station to visit the rangers and see some of the confiscated guns, snares, chainsaws, and other items they have collected. A patrol with the rangers can be organized but requires significant advanced planning.

Since the start of active protection in January 2014, the Forest Rangers have conducted over 975 individual patrols, with over 21,210 km of trails searched. During this time, the number of snares collected has significantly decreased, with over a total of 8,797 meters of snare wire retrieved from the surrounding forests.

Only through the active Forest Ranger protection of the concession area in Botum Sakor National Park can the pristine nature of the forest be protected for generations to come.