tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25855378081235128862024-03-18T05:48:20.681-04:00A Park Ranger's LifeThirty Two Years Protecting Our National ParksAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14673547528894385629noreply@blogger.comBlogger496125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585537808123512886.post-57002617189235022112016-11-25T10:42:00.003-05:002016-11-25T10:42:27.294-05:00Post Election Thoughts<div class="MsoNormal">
Election 2016 - Some Thoughts<o:p></o:p></div>
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Following every election of a new administration there is a sense of trepidation of the unknown. The election of Donald Trump as the next President of the
United States has brought forth a stream of mixed and swirling emotions. Living
in a strongly Republican area of the country I am hearing a lot of enthusiasm
for the change that we will be seeing in Washington and in national policy.
Personally I have found this state of affairs overwhelming and stressful since
I have a variety of concerns and yes, I have to admit fears of what these
changes may mean for the core values of the United States that I grew up in.<o:p></o:p></div>
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There is a lot of rhetoric being presented about racism,
religious intolerance, voting rights, and other serious issues. One topic that
is getting limited press coverage, and I admit falls lower on the survival
scale of other topics, is the fate of our nation’s public lands and the agencies
and people dedicated to their protection. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The Republican Party Platform includes as one of its goals;<o:p></o:p></div>
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Congress shall
immediately pass universal legislation providing for a timely and orderly
mechanism requiring the federal government to convey certain federally
controlled public lands to states (Page 21 of the Republican Party Platform
2016)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Right now in the House of Representatives they are holding
hearing on:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>LEGISLATIVE HEARING ON:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.congress.gov/114/bills/hr866/BILLS-114hr866ih.xml"><b>H.R.
866</b></a><b> (Rep. Diane Black), </b>To achieve domestic
energy independence by empowering States to control the development and
production of all forms of energy on all available Federal land.<i> “Federal
Land Freedom Act of 2015.”</i><o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.congress.gov/114/bills/hr1484/BILLS-114hr1484ih.xml"><b>H.R.
1484</b></a><b> (Rep. Mark Amodei), </b>To direct the Secretary
of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain Federal
lands to the State of Nevada in fulfillment of the Nevada Statehood
Enabling Act, and for other purposes.<i> “Honor the Nevada Enabling
Act of 1864 Act.”</i><o:p></o:p></li>
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These are just the opening volleys on what may develop into
an all-out attempt to turn over public lands to individual and special interest groups.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I often hear the term “government land” used to describe
public lands. This may be unintentional form of misnomer or perhaps propaganda.
The government represents the people of our nation and as such serve as
caretakers of the land for us all. That
is why public lands are open for common use and not restricted for any specific
group or interest group. Are there regulations that restrict certain activities
on these lands? Yes, but their purpose is to preserve them for a variety of
reasons including habitat, recreational use, resource management, tourism, water shed, etc.
Each parcel has been designated for a purpose and the management is directed
toward obtaining that goal or combination thereof. Most public lands were established through
<i>Enabling Legislation</i>. A read of these laws will outline the mission and purpose
of the protective status of the land.<o:p></o:p></div>
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If one looks back at the history of public lands protection,
you will discover that many of these areas were abused and in many cases nearly
destroyed through private ownership or focused resource removal. A prime example
of this mismanagement of natural resources can be found near the doorstep of
Washington itself. By the late 1920’s and early 1930’s the Southern Appalachian
Mountains had been stripped clean of marketable timber. Rural agrarian
communities were turned from historic farming to industrial economies almost
overnight. Families that had depended on low impact natural resource harvesting
and farming were forced to take jobs in timbering, mining, and small factories
to feed and clothe their families. Following
the Civil War large companies moved into the previously ignored mountain areas
to reap the spoils of natural resources found there. Timber Companies bought up
large tracts of land, in some cases swindling and legally maneuvering people
out of their land rights, to harvest the steep mountain slopes of lumber. They
were so aggressive in their quest for personal wealth that they built railroads
into the mountains to quicken the removal of every stick of timber they could
access. The result was land left unprotected and massive erosion resulting in
the sliding of entire mountain sides wiping out communities. Limbs and branches with no value were left on
the ground drying and become tinder for huge wildfires that spread for miles in
North Carolina and Virginia during the early part of the 20th century.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This is just one example of why lands were placed under
public protection. Throughout history once a price tag is placed on a resource
and individuals gain access to those resources, the search for immediate profit
far out weighs any thought of the future. The only reason we do not see this
wholesale stripping of our natural areas today is due to public land protection
and regulations of industry.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So whenever I hear about public lands being turned over to
local interests, it sends shivers down my spine. Local interests are more
susceptible and easily pressured to change use of such lands to meet short term
financial needs or to fill the pockets of a few influential individuals.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In Speaker of the House Paul Ryan’s address to the media following the
election, he specifically stated that Federal Agents would no longer be
harassing ranchers. This is a reference to the movement in the West symbolized
by the Bundy family and their followers to make personal use of public lands.
The Bundies owe the Federal Government (once again the people meaning you and
me) over $1 million for grazing fees. The Bundies have been grazing their
cattle for years on public lands for free refusing to pay these fees. Several
times courts have ordered them to pay back fees and penalties. They continue
refuse payment and continue to graze their cattle for free making personal
profit for themselves and no one else. So evidently, attempting to collect
those fees will now be termed harassment of ranchers. Federal land managers
have been staying off these public lands due to the threat of armed supporters
of the Bundies. Volunteers recently entered the area to assess resource
conditions. What they have found is that the Bundy cattle are still grazing the
land and have caused an incredible amount of resource damage.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This same movement, including two of the Bundy sons, is the
one that took possession of the Mauhler Wildlife Refuge in Oregon. Assessments
are still being done, but damage to the refuge estimates are over $1 million
dollars. I fear that such groups will be emboldened to take more actions that
would endanger not only the resources protected, but the employees and
volunteers who work in those areas.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This abuse of public lands for personal gain angers me to
the core. With the result of the election we are facing the potential for more
of this type of blatant exploitation of our public lands for political
purposes.<o:p></o:p></div>
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There are also proposals within the Republican Party and the
Trump Team to make it easier to fire Federal Employees. Newt Gingrich, a Trump
adviser and potential Cabinet Member, has been very vocal in stating that this
would be a high priority for the new Trump Administration.<o:p></o:p></div>
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On the surface this proposal would gain traction with many
people following years of Federal workers being vilified in the media, by
politicians, and portrayed as lazy and ineffective. I would often hear this rhetoric from my own father during my 30+
years with the National Park Service.<i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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Removing employment protections could easily morph into
making it easier to get rid of people who question or do not support political
agendas and decisions. These abuses of power in the past are why these
protections were put in place. Professional managers would be reluctant to
stand up for what they know is right or dictated by documented policy to meet
political expediency. It would be a challenge and take tremendous courage to
stand up for natural resources or an ecosystem over economic short term gains.<o:p></o:p></div>
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There are many examples of how this could impact public
lands. In the past managers have stood up to issues such as energy exploration
and development, snow machine use, road development, water extraction, grazing
of fragile habitats, and many others threats that would result the degradation
of natural resources and the primary reasons these lands were identified for
protection.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In my personal experience; a number of years ago a company
wanted to build a coal generated power plant just below the Blue Ridge Parkway
in part of the Great Valley in Virginia. Air quality in this region was already
seeing significant impacts from such plants in far off Tennessee. Although
there were many parties involved in fighting this proposal (that would have served
a very small area of specific industries) local US Forest Service and National
Park Service managers spoke out against the plan based on scientific data that
showed the impacts it would have on the air quality and visibility in protected
public lands. Some higher level managers in Washington did not want these
managers to speak out, but they showed courage and determination in following
through on their commitment to protect those special places put under their
watch.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In some instances managers have sacrificed their careers
with strong positions resulting in unwanted transfers and pressure to retire.
We could see a sharp increase in pushing professional experienced people out of
key positions.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I cannot help but believe that changes to ease the process
for firing would be used as a threat and always be in the back of employees’
minds when making hard choice ethical decisions that could affect the long term future
of public lands.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I am sure there are ways to improve on existing practices and
policies in managing public lands. I hope that the new administration and the
people of this great Nation are able to come together to make any such changes through an approach
that includes a thoughtful view of long range impacts. <o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14673547528894385629noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585537808123512886.post-5246330238190044462016-11-07T10:50:00.001-05:002016-11-07T10:50:57.229-05:00A Park Ranger's Life; Required Reading In University English ClassToday I will be speaking with the Non Fiction Writing class at Washington and Lee University. This is the second year they have used my book, <u>A Park Ranger's Life</u>, as required reading for this course.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw7twieJ-YrJ5eY3k9ljD8e9Hj41oGmBSIEXFsti_cHFq_qrvs57pZXesWo-CtSUHzL8FYo2ljB2SpafRrxKpfSDIWDsBEoUiSGvdJcqGW2ezquPet_buCp6I8VkQiymZGckghCh0okik/s1600/Book+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw7twieJ-YrJ5eY3k9ljD8e9Hj41oGmBSIEXFsti_cHFq_qrvs57pZXesWo-CtSUHzL8FYo2ljB2SpafRrxKpfSDIWDsBEoUiSGvdJcqGW2ezquPet_buCp6I8VkQiymZGckghCh0okik/s320/Book+Cover.jpg" width="214" /></a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14673547528894385629noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585537808123512886.post-74188486155128945102016-06-12T13:15:00.003-04:002016-06-12T13:16:45.457-04:00Park Ranger SecretsA new article is out in Readers Digest on line outlining 32 secrets for park visitors from park rangers.<br />
<br />
Fellow ex park ranger/author Andy Lankford (<i>Park Ranger Confidential)</i> and myself were both interviewed by Michele Crouch for this article. You will find us mentioned at the end in the credits.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.rd.com/advice/travel/park-rangers/">Readers Digest Park Ranger Secrets</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14673547528894385629noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585537808123512886.post-39303714786248075222016-03-24T12:48:00.000-04:002016-03-24T12:48:15.008-04:00<i><b>A question I received as to why I was interested in being a National Park Ranger.</b></i><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Being in the
outdoors has always been my passion whether it was playing as child or camping
and backpacking when I got older. This
was combined with my family visiting National Parks and seeing park rangers
with their flat hats being the gods of the wilderness and masters of historic
information. At a very early age when
asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, it was always a park ranger.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Sixteen
years ago I completed a research project for a thesis on recruiting for
National Park Seasonal positions. One of
my discoveries was that most employees working that summer had visited National
Parks as a child therefore establishing that awe and inspiration at an early
age. This confirmed my own experience.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As most
people I had a lot of misconceptions of what it would be like to work as a park
ranger. I had visions of being in the
woods all day, leading tours, working with wildlife, etc. What I found was that there was so much more
to it. So much so, that I wrote a book
about that very topic. A lot more
detail on this answer can be found in the book.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14673547528894385629noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585537808123512886.post-69945837437070261552016-03-17T09:35:00.003-04:002016-03-17T09:35:43.770-04:00College Student QuestionsI just received some questions from a student at George Washington University about Park Rangering. I thought I would share my answers over a few posts. I hope you find them of some interest.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><i>As I read on your website, you recently gave a presentation about theft from National Parks. In your opinion, what is the biggest threats facing our national parks today? Is it sticky-fingered visitors? Underfunding? Environmental threats? </i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The most serious and overwhelming
threat is that to our environment. What affects our world directly impacts the
resources in our parks. Global warming, air quality, habitat reduction around
out parks’ borders are very real and immediate and require universal and
regional solutions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Politically our National Parks face
numerous threats. Inadequate funding not only reduces the services
visitors receive, but also results in continued infrastructure and resource
degradation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There are also threats to the concept
of protected public lands due to political and special interests. There
continue to be proposals by individuals, groups, and politicians to turn
federally protected lands back to state and local governments. This is often mislabeled
as “giving them back to the people.” I would argue that this concept would
remove or reduce access to a smaller group with special interests that will
make money for small parties at a sacrifice for the rest of us. Examples would include
local governments wanting control of federally protected lands so they can be
leased or sold for energy exploration or ranching. Even some lands managed by the National Park
Service are drawing such attention.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On the ground level in parks resources
are threatened by over use, neglect, and theft or conversion for personal gain.
The theft of wildlife, plants, minerals, and historic resources is increasing.
Lack of funding means that there are less Park Rangers in the field to protect
these resources, monitor damage, and prevent crimes against us all as owners
and custodians of our National Parks.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14673547528894385629noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585537808123512886.post-44934163087054025752015-09-01T16:24:00.001-04:002015-09-01T16:24:49.242-04:00Theft From Our National ParksLast month I gave a presentation for a <u>Road Scholar Program</u> held at Natural Bridge in Virginia. The title of the presentations was "Stealing Our National Parks; One Piece At A Time." In the audience were Wayne and Carla Anderson from Missouri. They were so interested in the topic of wildlife, plant, and cultural resources from our Parks that they returned home and wrote an article in their regular column for the <i>Columbia Tribune.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
You can access the full article at;<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.columbiatribune.com/arts_life/pulse/chautauqua-presentation-highlights-important-work-of-park-rangers/article_14ce2978-811c-597f-9c7e-aa685ea58879.html">Columbia Tribune Article</a><br />
<br />
Learn more about Road Scholar Programs at;<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.roadscholar.org/">Road Scholar</a><br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14673547528894385629noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585537808123512886.post-77330580246578785272015-08-04T08:30:00.002-04:002015-08-04T08:30:50.703-04:00Dwindling Park Ranger RanksBelow is a link to an interesting article from the <i><b>National Park Traveler</b></i> website.<br />
<br />
Due to the increasing retirement of law enforcement National Park Rangers, the number of Rangers in the parks are declining quicker than positions can be filled. Budget restraints and sequester requirements are also contributing to this issue.<br />
<br />
I remember in the early 2000's studies showing that the National Park Service was grossly under staffed in law enforcement. At that time there were just over 1,500 permanent law enforcement park rangers in the entire system. On the Blue Ridge Parkway a study revealed that a minimum of 50+ rangers were needed in this one park to be able to perform the job of protecting visitors and resources safely. I recall that the terms used were related to working safely not efficiently or effectively. At that time there were 32 positions within the park (2 being located at HQ) and the number has shrunk since then.<br />
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For some time managers were concerned with the issue of protection and staffing within our parks. The attacks of 9/11 and the fact that areas under National Park Service responsibility were considered potential terrorist targets resulted in a policy to fill any vacant law enforcement position as soon as possible. These jobs were not to be lapsed to save funding. With the advent of sequestered budgets and continuing resolutions year after year, managers have had no choice but to leave vacated positions unfilled for extended periods or in some instances abolished completely.<br />
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The possible future silver lining to this cloud is that the situation may lead to opportunities for those looking to join the Park Ranger ranks in the near future. New budgets are including additional funding to hire seasonal law enforcement rangers in the parks next season.<br />
<br />
I would hope that planning will also include filling of current vacant permanent positions and funding for additional park rangers in the higher use and incident areas of the country. Although seasonal park rangers are essential in many parks, permanent positions result in higher and consistent levels of training and experienced personnel to handle the complexities of protecting our parks in the 21st century.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com/2015/08/too-many-retirements-impacting-national-park-service-law-enforcement-ranks">National Parks Traveler</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14673547528894385629noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585537808123512886.post-18089536168785834282015-05-26T12:40:00.001-04:002015-05-26T12:41:40.779-04:00Dangers in National ParksAs I used to tell new and seasonal park rangers, "the one thing that most people do not pack for their park visits is their common sense." Which leads to false senses of security. Here are some examples of how a park visitor can get themselves in trouble fast.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.kansascity.com/living/travel/article22153692.html">‘Vacation brain’ can be dangerous for travelers in national parks</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14673547528894385629noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585537808123512886.post-13233097159877976122015-05-12T09:58:00.002-04:002015-05-12T09:58:33.378-04:00Wildlife Officer Attacked in North CarolinaEven people stealing plants from public lands can become dangerous to Park Rangers and other Land Management Officers. Here is an example from North Carolina.<br />
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<strong>“Charges in attack on wildlife officer upgraded to attempted murder” -</strong>from a Greenville, SC news</div>
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<a href="" removedlink__068291ef-3a99-45a3-8ff4-0d754e8a14f8__href="http://www.wyff4.com/news/2-arrested-after-wildlife-officer-attacked-beaten-on-patrol/32818134" style="color: blue; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">http://www.wyff4.com/news/2-arrested-after-wildlife-officer-attacked-beaten-on-patrol/32818134</a></div>
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Our Henderson County WRC officer was badly injured after an attack by two un-armed plant poachers.</div>
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He was investigating a “parked vehicle”</div>
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They: “beat Stronach in the head with a motorcycle helmet. Matthew Arold kicked Stronach in the head repeatedly,”</div>
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Hearsay from the neighboring state forest ranger:</div>
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Officer deployed his Taser on one, when the second jumped him and took control of the Taser.</div>
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The assailants then used the Taser 4-5 times on the officer while beating him. (not sure of that)</div>
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The officer maintained control of his firearm by laying on his holster side. (sounds very likely)</div>
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Not much locally, Asheville source WLOS: <a href="" removedlink__068291ef-3a99-45a3-8ff4-0d754e8a14f8__href="http://www.wlos.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/nc-wildlife-resource-officer-assault-20884.shtml#.VUqss_lVhBd" style="color: blue; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">NC Wildlife Resource Officer Assault</a></div>
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Be safe guys! </div>
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It’s not all about customer service, be alert!!</div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Stephen Tillotson</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Park Ranger</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14673547528894385629noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585537808123512886.post-83740454836502841972014-11-11T10:59:00.000-05:002014-11-11T10:59:52.620-05:00A Reader's Story <span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I recently received this email from one of my son's friends who recently read </span><u style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">A Park Ranger's Life</u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">. You never know the connections that can be made with our fellow humans. I am humbled to think that the writer felt that reading my book influenced his decision to act with kindness and </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">compassion in a way</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> that may have defused a potentially escalating situation.</span></i></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I found your insight into dealing with "crazy" people to be helpful in my own life: the other day I was riding on the Boston subway, and there was an agitated and dirty guy sitting in one of the seats. He seemed eager to talk to people in the subway car but everyone was ignoring him, myself included. When a stop came, the woman sitting next to him got off and no one took her seat, despite the fact that the car was packed to capacity. The look on his face clearly expressed that he felt like an outcast. At that point, I recalled the multiple instances in your book in which you mentioned that most people just want a little respect and recognition and that by giving them some respect they feel validated and relax. So, I worked my way over to the seat and sat next to him. We chatted a little bit about the Red Sox and he appeared to calm down. I took this as proof that your insight holds true, and so from now on I will try to extend a small tokens of respect to similarly upset people.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><i>It took some courage for this young man to step forward and extend himself to another. W</i>e often <i>never know what small and random acts of kindness can do.</i></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14673547528894385629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585537808123512886.post-73220580162737884502014-11-04T13:31:00.001-05:002014-11-04T13:31:52.095-05:00Park Ranger EDUA new resource was brought to my attention for those seeking information on pursuing a career as at Park Ranger.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.parkrangeredu.org/">Park Ranger EDU</a><br />
<br />
This appears to be a one stop shop for finding out basic information and providing links to sites that provide more details for many agencies that employ Park Rangers. I like the fact that this site provides access to each of the State Park Services giving the prospective applicant a full menu to research and choose from.<br />
<br />
Check it out when you get a chance.<br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14673547528894385629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585537808123512886.post-50497998273488338752014-08-29T11:01:00.000-04:002014-08-29T11:01:49.195-04:00Latest On The Criminal Theft Of PlantsThe criminal theft of plants from public lands is in the news again.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://news.msn.com/crime-justice/feds-jail-ginseng-poacher-as-wild-plants-face-risk#tscptmf">feds-jail-ginseng-poacher-as-wild-plants-face-risk#tscptmf</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://www.fws.gov/international/images/american-ginseng-with-fruit.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">American Ginseng</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14673547528894385629noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585537808123512886.post-52629209796480251282014-08-26T13:57:00.002-04:002014-08-26T13:57:22.797-04:00Another Nasty Invasive
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<b><span style="font-family: "Charlemagne Std Bold"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Big Caslon";">Another Nasty Invasive</span></b><span style="font-family: Big Caslon; font-size: 14pt;">: </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We are
continually battling multiflora rose here at Boxerwood and I’ll bet you are
too, maybe without even knowing it. This
rose was introduced to the eastern United States in 1866 as a rootstock for
ornamental roses. In the 1930’s, the U.S. Soil Conservation Service started
using the rose for erosion control and as ‘living fences’ to control
livestock. More recently, the plant was
used on highway median strips as a crash barrier and to reduce headlight glare
(this is also how we got the notorious and ever-present Autumn Olive). Multiflora rose is an aggressive (and the key
word here is aggressive) large, multi-stemmed shrub with arching stems and
recurved thorns. Small white or pinkish flowers bloom in May and small bright
red rose hips form in late summer through winter. The tips of the canes often reach the ground
and root. Here at Boxerwood, we have had
multiflora rose climb thirty feet into trees.
Birds spread the plentiful seed everywhere. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How
to eradicate it? In fields, repeated
cutting or mowing at the rate of three to six times <o:p></o:p>over a period of two years seems to work. For smaller infestations, late in the season, cut the plant to the ground and paint the remaining stems with a systemic glyphosate herbicide such as Roundup.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj840de-toGnLZ2pWQmGK8FCQdZ5O8iOa8PFij7qx99_zU7wKGxQl_9JJylPY9XPSKl51-UkE5LuxvZ12-IryHCNLE6w6Z-gvPl5U_AwrRHCYQEV0N9LYzunIfJ8TPDPuMRw-5oQYL4FIY/s1600/Multiflora+Rose.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj840de-toGnLZ2pWQmGK8FCQdZ5O8iOa8PFij7qx99_zU7wKGxQl_9JJylPY9XPSKl51-UkE5LuxvZ12-IryHCNLE6w6Z-gvPl5U_AwrRHCYQEV0N9LYzunIfJ8TPDPuMRw-5oQYL4FIY/s1600/Multiflora+Rose.jpg" height="271" width="400" /></a></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14673547528894385629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585537808123512886.post-83894188022928317352014-08-25T10:58:00.002-04:002014-08-25T10:58:37.004-04:00Do You Miss Being A Park Ranger?"<i>Do You Miss Being A Park Ranger?" </i>I get asked this question a lot and there are many aspects of the job of a National Park Ranger I do miss. What I do not miss is getting to meet people like the one described bellow that showed up at the Lodge in Crater Lake National Park. <br />
<br />
What follows was taken from the National Park Service Morning Report and serves as an example of the types of problems park rangers have to deal with on a daily basis. It is also an example or how you never know what you will run into each day.<br />
<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Crater Lake NP</span></b><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Man Arrested Following Violent Disturbance At Lodge</span></b><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> Park dispatch was contacted by Crater Lake Lodge staff around 6
p.m. on July 10th and advised that a man was causing a disturbance at the
service bar in the Great Hall, yelling at staff and visitors. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> Chief Ranger Curt Dimmick responded. While en route, he learned
that the man had begun throwing things from the bar, including pitchers of
water, a sales computer, and a credit card printer. He was subsequently
advised that the man had also struck a visitor in the head with a crutch. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 13.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> As he entered the Great Hall, Dimmick saw that the man, later
identified as Donald Taylor of Medford, Oregon, was standing in front of the
bar, leaning on a crutch and yelling obscenities at two employees. Taylor
immediately turned to Dimmick, started advancing across the room with the
crutch under his arm and began yelling “I am going to [expletive] kill
you! You are going to die tonight!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 13.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> Dimmick ordered Taylor to stop and get on the floor several times
as he advanced, repeatedly yelling the same threats. When Taylor was only a few
feet away and still refusing to stop, Dimmick used his taser to put him on the
floor. Ranger John Neumann soon arrived and handcuffed him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 13.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> There were about 50 visitors and Lodge staff present during the
incident. Lodge staff had cleared most of the people from the Great Hall and
secured the doors into the restaurant just beyond the bar to provide for the
safety of guests while lodge and restaurant managers had kept Taylor occupied,
waiting for rangers to arrive. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 13.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> The man who was struck in the head with the crutch was a minister
who had attempted to talk to Taylor and calm him down. When the minister spoke
to him, Taylor first tried to spit in his face and then swung his crutch at the
minister’s head. The minister ducked, but the crutch still hit the top of
his head, causing a one inch laceration and contusion. The minister
declined medical treatment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 13.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> Rangers later located Taylor’s truck, which was parked immediately
in front of the lodge in the loading zone. Inside the truck were a loaded
.22 caliber rifle and an unloaded 7 mm. rifle with two dozen rounds of
ammunition. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 13.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> Taylor was charged with assault, resisting or impeding an officer,
disorderly conduct and vandalism. Taylor did approximately $2500 in damage to
lodge property. On July 28th, Taylor pled guilty to all charges. His
sentencing is scheduled for September 2th. He has been in jail since the
incident.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 13.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> The court has already ordered him to undergo a mental health
evaluation. He told the judge he was having a bad day and had too much to drink
after learning his ex-wife was trying to get sole custody of their son.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 13.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> Rangers had prior contact with Taylor. Last November, he entered
the lodge after it was closed by entering a side door that may have been left
unlocked. He spent the night with his dog in one of the lodge’s rooms, where he
was found by concessioner maintenance staff the next morning. He was cited for
trespass at the time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 13.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> [Curt R. Dimmick, Chief Park Ranger]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14673547528894385629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585537808123512886.post-23215511542979765832014-01-31T07:34:00.002-05:002014-01-31T07:35:05.631-05:00Plant Theft In Our National Parks<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Although I have been absent from this blog for some time due to my
work as Managing Director at the Boxerwood Nature Center and Woodland Garden in
Lexington, Virginia, I have been maintaining my attentiveness to what is happening
in our Parks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I was a bit concerned or perhaps even
miffed when I discovered that the History Channel was introducing a new program
entitled “Appalachian Outlaws.” This
series focuses on the lives of ginseng hunters working in the Southern
Appalachians. I could not help but think
that this might increase the interest in “cash crops” and glorify those that pilfer
these plants that grow wild on our protected lands. I noted in the first episode of this series
that one of the featured characters led the camera crew onto US Forest Service
land to hunt ginseng illegally. In one
scene a Forest Service employee shows up and they have to run to escape. That certainly added to the excitement and
mystique of the show.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Ginseng has become hard to find in many areas. On the show one of the characters states that
this is the fault of the government putting so much land into protection as
parks and forests. During interviews
with illegal ginseng hunters that were apprehended during my career we learned
that they were moving to Virginia because you could not find ginseng in their
states any more. When asked why, their
theory was that it was all hunted out in their home areas. That is the impact on natural resources that
these activities going unchecked can produce.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">There are areas where hunting and collecting of ginseng is
permitted and regulated in some instances by permits and seasons. This legal activity is acceptable and
approved by scientists and agencies. The
temptation of the money that could be made during our hard economic times fans
the flames and intent of those willing to cross the line of legality and those
forced by desperation to seek some profit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I am not saying that what appears below is related to the new
History Channel series, but does reflect what is happening in our parks. This is an example of what is occurring and
was taken from the National Park Service Morning Report dated January 31, 2014.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Cumberland Gap NHP</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Six Ginseng Poachers Successfully Prosecuted</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The
fall ginseng season was busy at Cumberland Gap and rangers employed special
shifts and focused patrols to combat poaching within the
park. The government shutdown caused reduced staffing levels during
the peak of the season, but rangers were able to apprehend six people and
recover a total of 414 roots and one rattlesnake prior to the shutdown: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">August 19 – Rangers contacted
two men on the Chadwell Gap Trail as they were about to be picked up at
the trailhead. They were found with 18 and 78 ginseng roots
respectively. Ranger Brad Cope was case agent.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">September 15 – A man was
observed capturing a rattlesnake on the Highway 58 road shoulder and being
picked up by a vehicle. Rangers stopped the vehicle, contacted the
man, and discovered 11 ginseng roots in his pocket and the rattlesnake in
the trunk. The vehicle’s occupants said that they had dropped him off
at the Kentucky visitor center earlier in the day and that he had called
them to pick him up in the Virginia section of the park. Ranger Mike
Ausmus was case agent.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">September 23 – Rangers received
information regarding possible digging in the Muddy Gut area of the
park. They contacted two men who were found in possession of 39 and
37 ginseng roots respectively. Several of these roots in their
possession were found to be marked with a dye and micro tags identifying
them as coming from within the park. This was the first case since the
park began its marking program in which marked ginseng was found on a
suspect, positively identifying roots as taken from the park. Ranger
Ben Byrnes was case agent.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">September 26 – Rangers received
information regarding possible digging in the Old Baileytown Road area of
the park. They contacted two men who were found in possession of 115
and 116 ginseng roots respectively. Ranger Greg Johnston was case
agent.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> All
six suspects pleaded guilty in federal court and were ordered to pay criminal
fines totaling $1,295 and civil restitution to the park totaling $6,045.
All recovered ginseng roots were inventoried and replanted in the park by
resource management personnel and will be monitored. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">[Greg
A. Johnston, Park Ranger]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14673547528894385629noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585537808123512886.post-48721868606045697952013-07-01T16:05:00.000-04:002013-07-01T16:08:17.673-04:00Recognition Of The Work Of A Park RangerI 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;<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">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.</span><br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
I would recommend sending your comments to two high ranking individuals;</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">Alaska Region</span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Sue Masica, Regional Director</span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">National Park Service</span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">240 West 5th Avenue, Suite 114</span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Anchorage, AK 99501</span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><a href="tel:%28907%29%20644-3510" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank" value="+19076443510">(907) 644-3510</a></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">And:</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Jon Jarvis, Director of the National Park Service</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">Address</span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">National Park Service</span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">1849 C Street NW</span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Washington, DC 20240</span><br />
<br style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;" />
<span style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">Phone</span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><a href="tel:%28202%29%20208-3818" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank" value="+12022083818">(202) 208-3818</a></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">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.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Thank you very much for your interest and support of our National Parks and the people who work to preserve them.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">Bruce W. Bytnar</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">NPS Retired</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">Author of "A Park Ranger's Life: Thirty Two Years Protecting Our National Parks"</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.aparkragnerslife.blogspot.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">www.aparkragnerslife.blogspot.<wbr></wbr>com</a></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333;">So if you have visited a National Park and been impressed by the service, care, kindness, or </span><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="color: #333333;">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 </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="color: #333333;">kindness or compassion can make a park ranger's day.</span></span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14673547528894385629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585537808123512886.post-30161496772496080682013-07-01T06:04:00.000-04:002013-07-01T06:04:09.187-04:0019 Firefighters Die In Arizona WildfireTragedy 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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
For what is know so far go to the LA Times at:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-arizona-firefighters-20130701,0,4762346.story">Firefighters Killed In Arizona</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14673547528894385629noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585537808123512886.post-38423612317661412372013-06-29T06:23:00.003-04:002013-06-29T06:23:35.854-04:00Kenya To Hire 500 New Park Rangers<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Due to the increases in poaching pressure on wildlife in Kenya, that country is going to add 500 more park rangers to their parks. According to the below linked article, "<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px;">Poachers killed 360 elephants and 19 rhinos in 2012," </span><span style="font-size: 15.199999809265137px; line-height: 18px;">within</span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px;"> Kenya's National Parks.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px;">As world economies suffer, we will see a continuing increased presence of wildlife and other resources theft with parks world wide. Meanwhile, in the United States we will be seeing fewer park rangers in our National Parks this summer due to budget constraints. That leaves us with fewer protectors of our nation's wildlife during a time when illegal taking of resources for financial gain will most likely increase.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://allafrica.com/stories/201306280172.html">Kenya Hiring Park Rangers</a></span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14673547528894385629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585537808123512886.post-67856632321308919762013-06-29T06:12:00.001-04:002013-06-29T06:12:39.756-04:00More Information From Investigation Into Shooting of Unarmed US Park RangerNew information may indicate that US Army Corps of Engineers Park Ranger D.P. Wright may have been shot by accident when a woman took her own life.<br />
<br />
For more details go to;<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/police-look-possibility-park-ranger-shooting-may-b/nYYqW/">Local Police Look Into Possibility That Shooting Of Park Ranger Was Accidental</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14673547528894385629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585537808123512886.post-20890660489890048872013-06-28T10:27:00.000-04:002013-06-28T10:34:38.379-04:00Unarmed US Army Corps of Engineers Park Ranger ShotOn Thursday June 27 an unarmed US Army Corps of Engineers Park Ranger was shot while conducting his normal daily duties of closing and area for the night. From the article you can visit below it sounds like he merely walked up to a vehicle to inform the occupant that they needed to leave for the evening so he could close a gate. The person he walked up to shot him in the abdomen.<br />
<br />
How many times a day do park rangers and other land managers conduct "sweeps" of areas so that they can close gates at dusk. I know during my career I did this hundreds if not thousands of times.<br />
<br />
The lesson, if there is one here, that we can all draw from this incident is that there is no such thing as routine whether you are an armed law enforcement trained park ranger, a fee collector, interpreter, biologist, or maintenance worker. If you are working with the most unpredictable creature on earth, the human, you can never know what to expect. Adding the wearing of any type of official looking uniform or vehicle and you can easily become someone's target.<br />
<br />
Just last week I wrote about a study indicating a sharp increase in assaults and threats made against park rangers. You can read about that in the post dated June 16.<br />
<br />
Never be complacent, in to much of a hurry, or let your guard down. Always remain alert and listen to your instincts when dealing with the public. Do not harbor the expectations that everyone out there is going to react to your presence or contact the way you would.<br />
<br />
I doubt this Park Ranger did anything wrong. He just walked into a no win situation which looks to me to have involved a person ready to take their own life and not adverse to taking others with them. I of course do not have all the facts and am making several suppositions based on very little factual information, but can see this scenario quite clearly being possible.<br />
<br />
To all my land management agency brothers and sisters, be careful out there and let us remember this injured fellow ranger in our thoughts and prayers. We all hope for him to have a speedy and successful recovery.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://lakelanier.com/content/2013/06/update-lake-lanier-ranger-shooting/">US Army Corps of Engineers Park Ranger Shot</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14673547528894385629noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585537808123512886.post-14121179389769792612013-06-17T12:42:00.002-04:002013-06-17T12:42:30.135-04:00Violence Against Park Rangers and Fellow Land Management Agency Employees IncreasesUpdated Reports reveal that assaults and threats against Park Rangers and workers in sister land management agencies increased in 2012 by 38% over 2011.<br />
<br />
The US Park Police saw an increase of 43% against their officers.<br />
<br />
Check out this article by the AP to learn more;<br />
<br />
<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/report-assaults-increase-rangers-park-police-160622791.html">http://news.yahoo.com/report-assaults-increase-rangers-park-police-160622791.html</a><br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14673547528894385629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585537808123512886.post-936681959714777152013-04-18T14:08:00.000-04:002013-04-18T14:10:48.801-04:00Good News For Popular National Park Concession OperationThe National Park Service has selected a new company to take over the contract for running the Peaks of Otter Concession operations on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Bedford, Virginia. <br />
<br />
The Peaks of Otter Lodge, Restaurant, Service Station, Camp Store, and Bus Tours have been closed since the contract for the last operator of this well know stop along the Blue Ridge Parkway chose not to renew their relationship with the National Park Service.<br />
<br />
With budget constraints resulting in a number of National Park Service operated facilities not scheduled to open this coming summer, it is good news to hear that this popular visitor destination will be reopened to the public once again.<br />
<br />
Details should be forthcoming in the next few days as to who received the contract and what form the approved services to be provided will entail.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWl1fT0xX9KYCJjFc6L_8r_oLJqsY479UtYnrAJh59mulUeMdIkFf8Ix6Wdxu6SVb4xSbsukaaOcSxfJwmcEJoal4BwxB6-VOheovYeXt89HBluU8YijhyDgM6FU58NxVL1VFnAf4beYU/s1600/DSCN0345.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWl1fT0xX9KYCJjFc6L_8r_oLJqsY479UtYnrAJh59mulUeMdIkFf8Ix6Wdxu6SVb4xSbsukaaOcSxfJwmcEJoal4BwxB6-VOheovYeXt89HBluU8YijhyDgM6FU58NxVL1VFnAf4beYU/s320/DSCN0345.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe3h2qebBBwz1i0jW1G9znHG-uwvSGlxtH5A67tnOCwyTLZiNUPavSoJ01KyxBTRb84i32u0Mvq02D_UScAyPi2VrrNzWktCtusUIhGVy9VPGsYMkuKjCEyd9zv2yoU9RLt8IoOVY-7AQ/s1600/DSCN0868.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe3h2qebBBwz1i0jW1G9znHG-uwvSGlxtH5A67tnOCwyTLZiNUPavSoJ01KyxBTRb84i32u0Mvq02D_UScAyPi2VrrNzWktCtusUIhGVy9VPGsYMkuKjCEyd9zv2yoU9RLt8IoOVY-7AQ/s320/DSCN0868.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Peaks of Otter Lodge on Abbott Lake at mile post 93 on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZLHiMkhyFut84g8xys-HPTmhxMrfOK-mvVu3vMmukfOXrzMx0tnT3nXAA9-Laq5UQu7IPFuhGp3r20wj-M1UZpCzUcxtrgk90gZ9zDZHZ8DZR5KvSBkgirnhA-tB7PeSjGc0Evhycvoc/s1600/At+Peaks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZLHiMkhyFut84g8xys-HPTmhxMrfOK-mvVu3vMmukfOXrzMx0tnT3nXAA9-Laq5UQu7IPFuhGp3r20wj-M1UZpCzUcxtrgk90gZ9zDZHZ8DZR5KvSBkgirnhA-tB7PeSjGc0Evhycvoc/s320/At+Peaks.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the many days I spent working as a Park Ranger at the Peaks of Otter.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14673547528894385629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585537808123512886.post-76635411631262195672013-04-15T09:27:00.004-04:002013-04-15T09:27:38.618-04:00Park Ranger Questions From a College StudentI was asked a series of questions by a college student for a class project. You may find some of these answers of interest.<br />
<br />
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Where did you work during the majority of your
time as a Park Ranger? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I spent the most of my 32+-year career on the Blue Ridge Parkway
in both NC and VA having worked in three different districts from 1981 to
2008. I started in 1975 at Fort McHenry
in Baltimore and then transferred to Fredericksburg, Va in 1977. Being part of the National Park Service I
worked on details as long as four months all across the country fighting fires,
helping with complex investigations, hurricane recoveries, training, etc.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> What did you like about being a Park
Ranger?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Being part of an organization with an important mission to
preserve and protect some of the most important sites and resources in our
Country. I was fortunate to have the
opportunity to live the career I dreamed of since being a child.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Was there anything you disliked about
it?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Dealing with administrative and bureaucratic minutia such as
forms, forms, forms, and insufficient budgets to do the job affectively,
efficiently, and safely. Toward the end
of my career as a supervisor and manager I felt I spent way to much time making
excuses for why we could not accomplish the job or work on initiatives proposed
by employees and the public.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Could you describe a typical day at a park you
worked at?</span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">No, there was no such thing as a typical day. I could wake up in the morning and form a
list in my head of what I needed to accomplish that day and by the time I got
to work all those plans would be thrown out the window. We spent much of our time responding to
whatever was happening at the time. That
could range from emergencies, investigations, or new administrative
demands. This lack of routine was one of
the aspects of the job that I enjoyed most of the time, although over the long
stretch it can drain you physically and emotionally.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: 'Times New Roman';">How did you get started in the Ranger world?</span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I started as most Park Rangers do as a seasonal employee. My first such job was at Fort McHenry
National Monument and Historic Shrine. I
made the contact to get this job as the instructor for one of my classes in
college was the Chief Ranger at the park.
<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You can learn a lot more detail about how to get started with
the National Park Service on by blog; <a href="http://www.aparkrangerslife.blogspot.com/">www.aparkrangerslife.blogspot.com</a>. Go to the search window to the right and type
in “jobs.” That will take you to several
articles I have written on this topic you might find of assistance<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What would you say is the best way to enter
the field/occupation?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Starting as a seasonal park ranger (see above) or volunteering
at a National Park is where most people get their foot in the door. You can learn more about this at the blog.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: 'Times New Roman';">What sort of demands are there to do the
job?</span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Depending on what type of position you apply for there are
certain requirements. The general
requirement for full time positions is a four-year college degree. You can work as a volunteer or seasonal
without a degree. Many people do this
during summer breaks from college.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If applying for what is referred to as a protection ranger
position (these are the Rangers who do law enforcement, fire, Search and
Rescue, etc. type of work) there are specific physical and medical
requirements. You can learn more about
this at: <a href="http://anpr.org/academies.htm">http://anpr.org/academies.htm</a><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Generally speaking a good park ranger needs to be flexible,
patient, always willing to learn (I spent my entire career learning new skills
and knowledge), knowledgeable about the resources they are protecting (and that
will be different for each park), and truly dedicated to protecting park
visitors and the resources with which you are entrusted.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: 'Times New Roman';">With government cutbacks, how do you see the
future for Park Rangers?</span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">With current cut backs in budgets, there will be a slow down in
hiring. Right now there is a freeze on
hiring new full time employees due to the Sequester. Many parks may also be hiring less seasonal employees
this summer. During my career I
witnessed numerous such situations and there was eventually some loosening of funds
for filling critical positions.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Another factor is that many Park Rangers of my generation are
continuing to retire. It was predicted
one year ago that more that one third of the Park Rangers working then would be
retiring within three years. This could
and should spell opportunity for those interested in getting into this
field. Remember I mentioned patience in
one of the answers above.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Do you have any advice for someone looking to
enter the same line of work?</span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Get as much experience as you can working with the public,
learning about resources of parks, visit parks and get to know someone on the
staff, get training and certifications in first aid, emergency management, fire
fighting, outdoor skills, etc. These opportunities
can be found if not in parks then with local volunteer fire departments and rescue
squads.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Most importantly, stay in school and complete a four-year degree
looking for chances to work in parks during the summer months.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14673547528894385629noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585537808123512886.post-76402657691052206262013-04-04T20:54:00.000-04:002013-04-04T20:54:45.253-04:00"A Park Ranger's Life" Makes Its Publisher's Great Expectations Author ProgramI received a letter and certificate from my publisher, Wheatmark, informing me that my book, "A Park Ranger's Life: Thirty Two Years Protecting Our National Parks", has sold enough copies to qualify me for their Great Expectations Author program. This means that I met my personal goals for the book and it can only improve.<br />
<br />
Thank you to everyone who has read my book. I greatly appreciate your support in making what has been a dream of mine, writing and publishing a book, come true.<br />
<br />
I am continuing to work on a second book to follow up on "A Park Ranger's Life" and a work of fiction based on a murder investigation in which I was involved during my career. Who knows what the future may hold.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14673547528894385629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585537808123512886.post-75801399960126643242013-02-20T11:47:00.001-05:002013-02-20T11:47:32.876-05:00Predicted Affects of Sequestration On National ParksWith the impending "Fiscal Cliff" that could result automatic cuts in budgets to those Federal Agencies open to political adjustments, The Coalition of National Park Retirees has prepared a Press Release that outlines the affects of these cuts on our parks.<br />
<br />
You can read this at:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://npsretirees.org/component/content/article/188-2nd-sequestration-pr.html">http://npsretirees.org/component/content/article/188-2nd-sequestration-pr.html</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14673547528894385629noreply@blogger.com4