National Park Service Seasonal Law Enforcement Park Ranger Training

I have received several requests for information and guidance in the process to qualify for a job with the National Park Service as a Law Enforcement certified Park Ranger.  As I have written in the past,  the vast majority of individuals start working as a temporary or seasonal employee.  Not only myself, but most of the park rangers I worked with during my career started out this way.

One of the, what many consider, the oddities of the National Park Service is that to qualify for a seasonal law enforcement or protection positions an individual must complete a training academy certified by the Park Service.  You will hear this referred to as the Seasonal Law Enforcement Training Program or SLETP.  These training academies are operated by colleges and universities across the country.  The odd part is that this program is done by the prospective Park Ranger on their own time and at their own expense.  Once completed the graduate can be considered for hiring for jobs that last for up to six months at a National Park anywhere in the country.  In some cases these programs will also qualify graduates to work for state and local agencies where they are located.

In addition, once someone is fortunate enough to be selected for a permanent Park Ranger protection position, they will be required to complete the training program at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC).

You can learn a lot more at these sites:

http://www.nps.gov/personnel/seasonalle.htm

http://anpr.org/academies.htm