Monday, July 1, 2013

Recognition Of The Work Of A Park Ranger

I recently received an email from a reader asking about who they could write to in order to recognize the good work done by a park ranger they met while on a trip to Alaska.  Here is my response;

I greatly appreciate your wanting to recognize the good work done by one of the Park Rangers you met in Alaska.  This does not happen enough and when it does, it can make a significantly positive impact on an individual's morale and sometimes career.

I would recommend sending your comments to two high ranking individuals;

Alaska Region
Sue Masica, Regional Director
National Park Service
240 West 5th Avenue, Suite 114
Anchorage, AK 99501
(907) 644-3510

And:

Jon Jarvis, Director of the National Park Service
Address
National Park Service
1849 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20240

Phone
(202) 208-3818

These folks need to hear positive feedback about what their Rangers are doing in the field and will be sure to pass their appreciation back down the chain to the individual park ranger and their supervisors.


Thank you very much for your interest and support of our National Parks and the people who work to preserve them.

Bruce W. Bytnar
NPS Retired
Author of "A Park Ranger's Life: Thirty Two Years Protecting Our National Parks"



So if you have visited a National Park and been impressed by the service, care, kindness, or knowledge shared by a park ranger,  why not take a few minutes to express your appreciation in a letter or email.  Just a few moments of returned kindness or compassion can make a park ranger's day.

19 Firefighters Die In Arizona Wildfire

Tragedy has stuck the wildfire community with the deaths of 19 firefighters in Arizona.  Not a whole lot of details are known yet, but this is reported to be the worst loss of firefighter lives since 1933.

The deaths occurred on the Yarnell Hill Fire and the crew involved was the Granite Mountain Interagency Hotshot Crew.  The fast moving fire also caused the evacuation of an entire community and the loss of approximately 200 structures including homes.

For what is know so far go to the LA Times at:

Firefighters Killed In Arizona