Number of Law Enforcement Officers Killed In The Line Of Duty Up 38% In 2010

According to statistics kept by the FBI the number of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty is up 38% over 2009.  160 Officers were killed in 2010 as apposed to 117 in 2009.

During this same time period violent crime rates went down.

59 law enforcement officers were killed in shootouts during 2010.

The reason for the increase in officer deaths is theorized to be due to three factors:

    1.  Decreases in budgets have resulted in less officers trying to do more

     2.  An increasing violent number of criminals who are not afraid to kill law enforcement officers rather      than go to jail

    3.  A sharp increase in distracted drivers making traffic enforcement more dangerous

Think about number 3 next time when you are driving down the road talking on the cell phone or texting.

During the coming New Year let's not forget these men and women who gave their lives keeping us safe and the families they left behind.

You can learn more at:

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2010/1228/Why-police-officer-deaths-rose-37-percent-in-2010

http://www.nleomf.com/

A Christmas Present For Us All -Utah State Park Ranger Brody Young Improving

Utah State Park Ranger Brody Young who was shot over a month ago is improving to the point where he can talk and give investigators some basic information.  For more on the story go to:

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/50924487-76/nyland-police-remember-doesn.html.csp

Government Shutdown Looming – An Old Story

A big story in the media today is that pending government shutdown is looming if a budget is not passed by Sunday.  The coverage I am seeing makes it sound like this is the first time this has ever happened.  Realistically, not passing a Federal budget in time has become more a standard operating procedure for Congress. It is usually the result of the two political parties refusing to support any budgetary proposals put forward by the other. 

What normally happens is a Continuing Resolution is passed authorizing Federal Agencies to spend a percentage of what they did the year before.  One of the complications to this system is that Federal agencies may not know what their budget is for the year until half way through the fiscal year.  This does not allow for proper planning, scheduling, or efficient and affective spending of funds once they are approved.

Back in the early 1990s we faced a true shut down when Congress had still not approved a budget and could not even agree on an additional Continuing Resolution.  October is one of the busiest months of the year in the Eastern parks and the start of the Federal Fiscal year.  In mid October all Government Agencies were ordered to shut down all non essential services.  On the Blue Ridge Parkway the Superintendent determined that only supervisors were to be considered essential personnel and all others were to be sent home and all public facilities closed.  As the James River District Ranger I was the only supervisor in our division and had to send home all of my staff immediately and then proceed to clear all the visitors out and close two major picnic areas and a campground that happened to be near capacity of occupation.  The fact that these areas were separated over a distance of 70 miles also made this task more challenging.  I believe that I was cursed and verbally abused more on that one day then in the rest of my 32 year career.  No one told the public not to come to the most visited National Park Service area during the fall color season.  What they found were no campsites, no visitor centers, no park ranger programs, and most importantly no restrooms.

This continued for about ten days.  At first I was the only park ranger in the District that could work and respond to emergencies.  After several days the decision was made that one non supervisory park ranger per district could work per day.  No one knew if they would be paid for this time or not.  All other employees stayed home. 

Eventually a budget bill was passed and all employees were paid their regular pay for the time they were off.  So while park rangers worked others had a paid vacation.  But the largest impact was on the visitors whose National Park experiences were disrupted.

Today all Law Enforcement Commissioned National Park Rangers are considered essential personnel.  So should another government closure happen, public safety and protection of sensitive resources can still be assured.

Seasonal Park Ranger Application Tips

I have had several people write to me and ask questions at book events about applications for seasonal park ranger positions.  As I have noted before, most of the applications for this coming spring and summer seasons in National Parks are due in January.  Many job announcements for such positions are starting to show up at:

http://www.usajobs.opm.gov/

I would recommend visiting this site regularly to find any jobs you may be interested in.  Each announcement will have specific instructions on how to file your application.

Here are a few tips I have been passing around;

Consider that the first reading of your application that determines whether it gets passed on to a hiring supervisor or not will be done by someone who thinks they know everything but in truth know very little about being a park ranger.  That should be the initial audience that you are writing for.  That may sound a bit negative, but I ran into the situation of Human Resources clerks putting people that I knew were good individuals and highly qualified below others on scored lists.  The reason generally was the result of an application that did not include key words or phrases that evaluators are looking for.

Toot your own horn because no one else will.  Experienced seasonal park rangers tend to be overly modest in applying for jobs. I believe this is the result of their experience giving them a better insight of what the job requires than an inexperienced person possess.  They then tend to measure themselves to a higher standard and thus demean their level of know-how and ability in writing.  Do not fall into this trap.

Apply to multiple parks.  It is always a mistake to put all your eggs in one basket.  Do not overlook the lesser known, smaller, and urban areas and parks.  These locations in some cases hire more seasonals or have more turn over from past staff from the summer before.  The urban parks in many cases offer more opportunities for eventual permanent status since they also have more turn over in those types of positions. 

Are you a member of the Association of National Park Rangers?  At their annual Rendezvous they generally have Human Resources folks from Washington available to sit down and review applications with seasonal employees.  ANPR also provides mentoring programs, networking opportunities and training in leadership that is open to all members not just those nominated by supervisors.  Check out their website at:

http://www.anpr.org/

Go to the search window to your right on this site and type in “jobs.” To read past posts on this topic.

Good luck pursuing a career as a National Park Ranger.

Utah State Park Ranger Brody Young's Condition Is Improving

One month after being shot multiple times during a vehicle stop Utah State Park Ranger Brody Young is still hospitalized but showing improvement.  Brody is now listed in fair condition in St. Mary's Hospital in Grand Junction, Colorado.

For more information check out:

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/50865553-76/hospital-condition-desert-grand.html.csp

Christmas Gathering of Authors In Lexington, Virginia

Book Signing Event

Books and Company

Nelson Street, Lexington Virginia

Sunday December 19, 2010

2 pm

Twelve local authors will be present to sign and personalize their books.  Included will be:

Bruce W. Bytnar “A Park Ranger’s Life”

Jim Bresnahan  “Friday Night Reunion”

Kate Buford  “Native American Son”

Patricia Foreman  “City Chicks”

Chris Gavaler  “School for Tricksters”

Keith Gibson  “Campus History of VMI”

John Leland  “Learning the Valley”

Dougie Morris  “Whilhelmina Under the Stairs”

Dabney Stuart  “Open the Gates”

Ann Sullivan  “Simply Sullystone”

Lisa Tracy  “Objects of Our Affection”

Reader Review of "A Park Ranger's Life"

Here is another reader's review of A Park Ranger's Life: Thirty Two Years Protecting Our National Parks.

December 10, 2010

Bruce Bytnar's book is packed with fascinating episodes that he experienced as a U.S. Park Ranger. Throughout its pages, he describes his career with the Park Service, as well as the various challenges he faced later on. The everyday problems that he dealt with ranged from wildlife poachers to inept supervisors and bureacracies. Despite all of this, his tone remains positive and inspiring. 

"A Park Ranger's Life" was published during my Seasonal Law Enforcement Academy, and I found it to be a helpful read. Overall, the author's stories provided extremely valuable insight into my desired career field, and I was glad I had read it after working as a NPS ranger this summer. Not only does Bytnar describe the ups and downs of the work, but he also provides a detailed look into other assignments, such as working on a forest fireline. 

I also enjoyed how the author described how his personal life was affected during his career. Park housing and family relationships are discussed, which are an extremely important part of working as a ranger. Few, if any, books take pause to examine this lesser-known component of how rangers live. 

"A Park Ranger's Life" makes an excellent read for anyone considering working as a Protection (LE) ranger. I also enjoyed the book, since I lived near the Blue Ridge Parkway in Western North Carolina and frequented it for hiking and camping. 

I am looking forward to reading it again soon.

You can still order copies of A Park Ranger's Life from on line sources in time for Christmas gifts.  The book is also available on Amazon Kindle for those digital readers out there.


Wheatmark Publishing
http://www.wheatmark.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=BS&Product_Code=9781604943450

Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/Park-Rangers-Life-Thirty-two-Protecting/dp/1604943459/ref=tmm_pap_title_0

Barnes and Noble.com
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/A-Park-Rangers-Life/Bruce-W-Bytnar/e/9781604943450/?itm=1&USRI=a+park+ranger's+life

If you are in Virginia you can find signed copies at the book stores listed in the right hand column of this blog.

New York Times Article on the Dangers of Working In the Wild

The New York Times featured a good article on the dangers of working in the wild as a park ranger or wildlife officer.  You can access the article at:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/07/us/07rangers.html?_r=1

Utah State Park Ranger Update for December 7

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/50819930-76/arellano-infection-nyland-grand.html.csp

Web Site For Utah State Park Ranger Brody Young

Here is a web site for Utah State Park Ranger Brody Young who was shot in the line of duty on November 19.

http://www.rangerbrody.org/