About Park Rangers

Park rangers are important for the protection and preservation of our wildlife and resources in national parks and other federally-protected areas. Here's a short overview of the history of the park ranger, as well as the different types, their duties and where they work.

History

The term "ranger" was first used in 1899 in reference to a group of men who made up the Fire Warden force when a fire burned 80,000 acres in the Adirondack Park. The name was derived from a small force during the French and Indian War in 1755 that called themselves "Rogers' Rangers." Eventually, the term was adopted by the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service.

Identification

A park ranger is an individual in charge of protecting and preserving national, state or provincial parklands. The term "ranger" is used in the United States and Canada, but some countries prefer the term "park warden" or "game warden." The duties of a park ranger have been characterized as "protecting the people from the resource, and the resource from the people." This is obviously a simplified version of a park ranger's duties, and, in fact, over the past few years, the duties and responsibilities of the park ranger have become extremely diverse and specialized.

Types

Although some park rangers choose to specialize in a certain area, most of the duties overlap. Following is a list of the different types of park ranger disciplines that individuals can specialize in: dispatching, park security, law enforcement, interpretation and education, emergency response, firefighting, maintenance and administration.

Function

The overall function of the park ranger is to protect the park for which they are responsible, as well as the park visitors. Different divisions within a park work together, their duties overlapping somewhat, to accomplish this goal. Dispatchers answer emergency calls and send law enforcement, fire fighting rangers or park EMTs to emergency situations. Park guards are rangers who choose to oversee the security of the park by making sure gates are locked and that unauthorized persons are kept out of closed areas. Law enforcement rangers serve as police and enforce national laws and park regulations within the park. All park rangers provide education to an extent, but a ranger can specialize in providing a wide range of informational services to visitors or in leading educational programs. Search and rescue and firefighting are two very important subspecialities for park rangers, for they are the rangers who respond to emergency situations, such as lost visitors or forest fires. These rangers may also be the ones to respond to calls for medical emergencies. Finally, some rangers may decide to specialize in maintenance or administration. Both of these roles work "behind the scenes" to keep the parks up and running smoothly.

Geography

Park rangers work in a variety of areas in the United States, but more than half work east of the Mississippi river. Most of their work is performed outdoors, but some rangers do work in offices, especially if they advance to a more managerial position. Rangers can be assigned to all different parts of the country throughout their career, and work in many different kinds of environments and climates. The terrain and weather conditions often vary considerably from location to location, and park rangers need to be flexible and adaptable to these circumstances.