National Park Ranger
Encyclopedia
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
and/or the President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
. While all employees of the agency contribute to the National Park Service mission of preserving unimpaired the natural and cultural resources set aside by the American people for future generations, the term Park Ranger
Park ranger
A park ranger or forest ranger is a person entrusted with protecting and preserving parklands – national, state, provincial, or local parks. Different countries use different names for the position. Ranger is the favored term in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Within the United...
is traditionally used to describe all National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
employees who wear the uniform. Broadly speaking, all National Park Service rangers promote stewardship
Stewardship
Stewardship is an ethic that embodies responsible planning and management of resources. The concept of stewardship has been applied in diverse realms, including with respect to environment, economics, health, property, information, and religion, and is linked to the concept of sustainability...
of the resources in their care - either voluntary stewardship via resource interpretation
Heritage interpretation
Heritage interpretation is the communication of information about, or the explanation of, the nature, origin, and purpose of historical, natural, or cultural resources, objects, sites and phenomena using personal or non-personal methods....
, or compliance with statute
Statute
A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs a state, city, or county. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. The word is often used to distinguish law made by legislative bodies from case law, decided by courts, and regulations...
or regulation
Regulation
Regulation is administrative legislation that constitutes or constrains rights and allocates responsibilities. It can be distinguished from primary legislation on the one hand and judge-made law on the other...
through law enforcement
Law enforcement agency
In North American English, a law enforcement agency is a government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws.Outside North America, such organizations are called police services. In North America, some of these services are called police while others have other names In North American...
. These comprise the two main disciplines of the ranger profession in the National Park Service.
History
The origin of the term "ranger" dates to the 14th century in England, and was drawn from the word "range" (to travel over a large area). "Rangers" patrolled royal forests and parks to prevent "poachers" from hunting game belonging to the crownThe Crown
The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...
. The title "Ranger" in the modern sense was first applied to a reorganization of the Fire Warden force in the Adirondack Park, after 1899 when fires burned 80000 acres (323.7 km²) in the park. The name was taken from Rogers' Rangers
Rogers' Rangers
Rogers' Rangers was an independent company of colonial militia, attached to the British Army during the Seven Years War . The unit was informally trained by Major Robert Rogers as a rapidly deployable light infantry force tasked with reconnaissance and conducting special operations against distant...
, a small force famous for their woodcraft that fought in the area during the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
beginning in 1755. The term was then adopted by the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
The first Director of the National Park Service, Stephen T. Mather, reflected upon the early park rangers as follows:
They are a fine, earnest, intelligent, and public-spirited body of men,
these rangers. Though small in number, their influence is large. Many
and long are the duties heaped upon their shoulders. If a trail is to be
blazed, it is "send a ranger." If an animal is floundering in the snow,
a ranger is sent to pull him out; if a bear is in the hotel, if a fire
threatens a forest, if someone is to be saved, it is "send a ranger." If a
Dude wants to know the why, if a Sagebrusher is puzzled about a road,
it is "ask the ranger." Everything the ranger knows, he will tell you,
ex-cept about himself.
Horace Albright, second director of the National Park Service, called Harry Yount
Harry Yount
Henry S. Yount was an American Civil War soldier, mountain man, professional hunter and trapper, prospector, wilderness guide and packer, seasonal employee of the United States Department of the Interior, and the first gamekeeper in Yellowstone National Park...
, gamekeeper of Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park, established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872, is a national park located primarily in the U.S. state of Wyoming, although it also extends into Montana and Idaho...
, the "father of the ranger service, as well as the first national park ranger".
Official Classification
The Park Ranger position in the Federal Government began as a series of specialized positions in the miscellaneous Series. In 1959 the official Park Ranger position (GS-0025 Park Ranger) was established throughout the Federal Government. along with its companion series the Park Technician (GS-0026). The Park Ranger position was designated for 'professional' work like management of the park (Park Ranger (Manager)-Park Ranger(Site Manager)), or management of division (Chief Ranger, Chief of Interpretation). The Park Technician series was designed to handle routine technical skills, i.e., giving walks, talks, patrolling roads, fee collection.
After years of concern of pay, the National Park Service and the Office of Personnel Management agreed to consolidate the two series into a single group, to be used only for professional positions and temporary/seasonal positions. The agreement also required that the park service begin using other appropriate technical series for lower paid positions. The Protection Ranger series was changed to "GL"-0025 in 2005.
- 0025 – Park Ranger Series*
The duties are to supervise, manage, and/or perform work in the conservation and use of Federal park resources. This involves functions such as park conservation; natural, historical, and cultural resource management; and the development and operation of interpretive and recreational programs for the benefit of the visiting public.
Beginning in 1985, the service made this adjusment. Today, Park Ranger like duties are handled by a range of employees, wearing the traditional 'green and gray' uniforms, who are not park rangers. These positions include:
- 0303 – Miscellaneous Clerk and Assistant Series, aka Visitor Use Assistances. Duties include clerical, assistant, or technician work when other series are not appropriate. The work requires a knowledge of procedures and techniques involved in handling special program. This series is commonly used for Fee Collectors at campgrounds and entrance stations.
- 0189 – Recreation Aid and Assistant Series. Provides support to recreation programs by performing limited aspects of recreation work, lifequards
- 0090 – Guide Series. Provides or supervises interpretive and guide services to visitors to sites of public interest. Gives formal talks about natural and historic features, explains engineering structures and related water developments, answers questions, and guides tours.
Duties, disciplines, and Specializations
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The oldest source of information on Park Ranger Careers was the 1956 Park Ranger by C.B. Colby. At that time, park rangers fulfilled all the demands of park operations from administrative duties to technical rescue. By 1995, Exploring Careers in the National Parks by Bob Gartner reflected the specialization of duties and the expansion of titles covering the same work as was being done in 1956. In the 21st century Live the Adventure showed the park ranger profession was only becoming more complex.
The federal Office of Personnel Management
Office of Personnel Management
The United States Office of Personnel Management is an independent agency of the United States government that manages the civil service of the federal government. The current Director is John Berry.-History:...
sums up the diversity of the official "Park Ranger Series" of professional white collar
White-collar worker
The term white-collar worker refers to a person who performs professional, managerial, or administrative work, in contrast with a blue-collar worker, whose job requires manual labor...
occupational groups as follows:
"This series covers positions the duties of which are to supervise, manage, and/or perform work in the conservation and use of Federal park resources. This involves functions such as park conservation; natural, historical, and cultural resource management; and the development and operation of interpretive and recreational programs for the benefit of the visiting public. Duties characteristically include assignments such as: forest and structural fire control; protection of property from natural or visitor related depredation; dissemination to visitors of general, historical, or scientific information; folk-art and craft demonstration; control of traffic and visitor use of facilities; enforcement of laws and regulations; investigation of violations, complaints, trespass/encroachment, and accidents; search and rescue missions; and management activities related to resources such as wildlife, lakeshores, seashores, forests, historic buildings, battlefields, archeological properties, and recreation areas."
Interpretation Rangers
- InterpretationHeritage interpretationHeritage interpretation is the communication of information about, or the explanation of, the nature, origin, and purpose of historical, natural, or cultural resources, objects, sites and phenomena using personal or non-personal methods....
: Park Rangers provide a wide range of informational services to visitors. Some Rangers provide practical information—such as driving directions, train timetables, weather forecasts, trip planning resources, and beyond. Rangers may provide interpretive programsHeritage interpretationHeritage interpretation is the communication of information about, or the explanation of, the nature, origin, and purpose of historical, natural, or cultural resources, objects, sites and phenomena using personal or non-personal methods....
to visitors intended to foster stewardshipStewardshipStewardship is an ethic that embodies responsible planning and management of resources. The concept of stewardship has been applied in diverse realms, including with respect to environment, economics, health, property, information, and religion, and is linked to the concept of sustainability...
of the resources by the visitor. Interpretation in this sense includes (but is not limited to): guided tours about the park's history, ecology or both; slideshows, talks, demonstrations; informal contacts, and historical re-enactments. All uniformed rangers, regardless of their primary duties, are often expected to be experts on the resources in their care, whether they are natural or cultural.
- EducationEducationEducation in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
: Rangers may also engage in leading more formalized curriculumCurriculumSee also Syllabus.In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses, and their content, offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults...
-based educational programs, meant to support and complement instruction received by visiting students in traditional academic settings. Rangers often develop education programs to help educators meet specific national and/or local standards of instruction. Cultural resource education may include access to artifacts or replicas, and natural resource education may include the taking of samples, all under the supervision of a ranger to insure proper protection of the resources. Unlike interpretation, education programs will include the opportunity to assess learning.
Emergency services
- Emergency Medical Response: Rangers are often certified as Wilderness First Responders, Emergency Medical TechnicianEmergency medical technicianEmergency Medical Technician or Ambulance Technician are terms used in some countries to denote a healthcare provider of emergency medical services...
s or ParamedicParamedicA paramedic is a healthcare professional that works in emergency medical situations. Paramedics provide advanced levels of care for medical emergencies and trauma. The majority of paramedics are based in the field in ambulances, emergency response vehicles, or in specialist mobile units such as...
s. Rangers operate ambulances and respond to medical incidents ranging from bumps and bruises to heart attacks. - Firefighting: Rangers are often the first to spot wildland fires and are often trained to engage in wild land firefightingWildfireA wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, squirrel fire, vegetation fire, veldfire, and wilkjjofire may be used to describe the same...
; in some parks, rangers also carry out prescribed fires, and perform structural fire fighting duties. - Search and RescueSearch and rescueSearch and rescue is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger.The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, mostly based upon terrain considerations...
: The wildernessWildernessWilderness or wildland is a natural environment on Earth that has not been significantly modified by human activity. It may also be defined as: "The most intact, undisturbed wild natural areas left on our planet—those last truly wild places that humans do not control and have not developed with...
aspect of many areas of the National Park System offers unique natural hazards for visitors. Search and RescueSearch and rescueSearch and rescue is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger.The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, mostly based upon terrain considerations...
trained rangers help visitors with injuries or illnesses suffered in remote wilderness areas or who become stranded in technical environments like swift water and high angle rock. These rangers are often expert climbers, boaters, or managers of the Incident Command SystemIncident Command SystemThe Incident Command System is "a systematic tool used for the command, control, and coordination of emergency response" according to the United States Federal Highway Administration...
. Searches can range from children who wander away from Visitor Centers to expert climbers who suffer a major accident while climbing.
Interpretation
In the last decades of the 20th century the field of resource interpretation began to consciously professionalize itself. This has resulted in the early 21st century with colleges and universities offering coursework and degrees in interpretation.Protection Management
All law enforcement officers are required to complete law enforcement training. Summer or seasonal law enforcement officers must complete an approved Seasonal Law Enforcement Training Program (SLETP). The SLETP program, an abbreviated law enforcement training program, was developed in 1977 to ensure that temporary park rangers have the appropriate skills and judgement to carry out law enforcement duties.SLETP approved programs:
| College | Location | Contact Number | Contact website |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado Northwestern Community College Colorado Northwestern Community College Colorado Northwestern Community College is a two-year junior college located in Rangely, Colorado, in the United States.Colorado Northwestern Community College has programs in... |
Rangely, Colorado | 800-562-1105, ext 331 | http://www.cncc.edu |
| Hocking College Hocking College Hocking College, a technical college located in Nelsonville, Ohio, in the Appalachian region of the United States offers a wide selection of curriculum, with 56 associate degree programs, as well as several certification programs.- Mission :... |
Nelsonville, Ohio | 740-753-6295 | http://www.hocking.edu |
| Northern Arizona University Northern Arizona University Northern Arizona University is a public university located in Flagstaff, Arizona, United States. It is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, and has 39 satellite campuses in the state of Arizona. The university offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees.As of... |
Flagstaff, Arizona | 928-523-8242 | http://www.prm.nau.edu/rangers |
| Santa Rosa Junior College Santa Rosa Junior College Santa Rosa Junior College is a community college located in the city of Santa Rosa in Sonoma County, California. Founded in 1918, it is the tenth oldest community college in the state. Santa Rosa Junior College was modeled as a "junior" version of nearby University of California at Berkeley... |
Windsor, California | 707-836-2914 | http://www.prm.nau.edu/rangers |
| Skagit Valley College Skagit Valley College Skagit Valley College is a two-year community college serving Skagit, Island, and San Juan counties in northwest Washington state. Established in 1926, SVC grants academic transfer degrees, technical degrees, and certificates. The academic transfer degree and several professional/technical degrees... |
Mount Vernon, Washington | http://www.skagit.edu | |
| Slippery Rock University | Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania | 724-738-2596 | http://academics.sru.edu/pree/ranger.htm |
| Southwestern Community College Southwestern Community College Southwestern Community College is a two-year college located in Sylva, North Carolina, an educational institution providing post-secondary education and lower-level tertiary education, granting certificates, diplomas, and associate's degrees... |
Franklin, North Carolina | 828-369-0591 | http://www.wouthwesterncc.edu/pubsafety/nps/index.htm |
| University of Massachusetts University of Massachusetts This article relates to the statewide university system. For the flagship campus often referred to as "UMass", see University of Massachusetts Amherst... Amerherst |
Hadley, Massachusetts | 413-545-2484 | http://www.contined.umass.edu |
| Vermilion Community College Vermilion Community College Vermilion Community College is a two-year community college in Ely, Minnesota adjacent to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and the Superior National Forest .... |
Ely, Minnesota | 218-365-7265 | http://www.hibbing.edu |
Permanent employees are required to complete the National Park Service's curriculum at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center serves as an interagency law enforcement training organization for 90 United States government federal law enforcement agencies.-Location:...
(F.L.E.T.C.) in Glynco, Georgia, where they attend a lengthy and rigorous law enforcement training program. The permanent Ranger is then assigned a Field Training Park and upon completion returns to their duty station.
See also
- List of United States federal law enforcement agencies
- Park RangerPark rangerA park ranger or forest ranger is a person entrusted with protecting and preserving parklands – national, state, provincial, or local parks. Different countries use different names for the position. Ranger is the favored term in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Within the United...
- RangerRanger (disambiguation)-Law enforcement:* Arizona Rangers* California State Rangers* Colorado Mounted Rangers* Council ranger, a type of officer in Australia* Newfoundland Rangers* New Mexico Rangers* Pakistan Rangers, a Pakistani paramilitary force* Texas Ranger Division...