Note: In honor of the NPS centennial, I’m publishing a piece I wrote in 2002 while working at Cape Cod National Seashore.
What’s a Park Ranger?
“What’s a Park Ranger?” That is the question I am asked by a 7-year old girl scout at the visitor center front desk of the Salt Pond Visitor Center at Cape Cod National Seashore this summer. It’s a question I’ve been asked many times during my 5-year employment as a Park Ranger with the National Park Service, but I still struggle with how to answer it. In this case, my job was made easier in knowing that she wanted to draw a picture of a ranger. For most, the image that comes to mind is someone in green and gray wearing the “Smokey” hat. But what really is a Park Ranger, and what does it represent to Americans? Park Rangers are numerous throughout our national parks, but what does being part of this elite fraternity represent to those of who choose to follow this unique career path? The answers are more varied and complex than one might guess.
The image that visitors envision as a Park Ranger is anyone who wears the “ranger” uniform, complete with arrowhead patch and flat hat. This “image” can be deceptive in that the position titles vary from Protection ranger, to Park Guide, to Visitor Use Assistant, to Interpretive Park Ranger. They all contribute to making the parks the special places they are today – keeping our parks safe, welcoming you at the entrance gate, leading tours, answering questions at the visitor center. All of these employees assist visitors in connecting intellectually and emotionally to the resource. But where does the drive to pursue a career in these varied fields come from for those “Park Rangers?”
My path to this illustrious point was a circuitous and unconventional one. Most visitors are quite surprised that I didn’t start out studying environmental sciences or forestry, but rather Business and English. I came to this career later in my life, after working at various jobs in corporate America that compensated me in an adequate fashion, but left me spiritually unfulfilled and uninspired. I first came to work in the national parks because I was looking for something to do during the summers after being a “ski bum” in Lake Tahoe during the winter. I used my business experience to get a position with a concession company (those who run the lodges, shops, restaurants in parks) in Sequoia National Park. That first summer I came to know and cherish the majesty of the giant sequoias, the grandeur of the high sierra, and that special wilderness that comprises our country’s second national park. (Yellowstone was first). I also realized that the people given the immense responsibility of being stewards for this wilderness were the Park Rangers of the National Park Service. I was hooked. And who hasn’t envied those folks who get to live and work in places like Grand Canyon, Great Smokies, Yosemite, and 385 other amazing sites of historic and natural significance? Getting a job working for the National Park Service is another story.
I’ve always considered myself lucky, because I was able to secure a position the very next summer as a ranger right there in Sequoia National Park. I am the “Park Ranger” that visitors most frequently come in contact with while visiting a park – an Interpreter. The “interpretive” park rangers perform visitor services and interpret what visitors see so they can better understand the environment of the park. They conduct nature walks, campfire programs and provide information at the visitor center. For every person like me, there are thousands who apply every year for the privilege of serving as ambassadors for our national treasures, and are turned down time and time again. And even when one is lucky enough to attain that magical “Park Ranger” status, most jobs are seasonal in nature, lasting only 3-6 months at a time during the summer months, when visitation is at its highest. Still it is a privilege to receive the honor of serving with the National Park Service even for a short time.
So, now it is five years later and I continue on doggedly pursuing my career with the Park Service. Sometimes I think I am the luckiest person in the world. I have gotten to witness people from all over the country gaze up at the largest trees in the world. I have received the simple pleasure of watching a five-year old go through a cave and see a stalagmite for the first time. And I’ve gotten to have my picture taken with a bunch of girl scouts receiving their junior ranger patches at one of the most scenic seashores in the country. But I’ve also lived for five years with an uncertain career future, little to no benefits, and not knowing where I’ll live six weeks or six months from now. I live on a salary that is half of what my fellow college graduates make with the same education. I’ve lived in park housing that could at best be described as spartan and at worst as decrepit. And that’s in the lucky circumstances that the park has housing. There are many Park Service sites that don’t offer housing and one is forced to try and find affordable housing in a local market where the cost of living greatly outpaces federal pay levels for rangers. Many times visitors ask me, “Where is your home?” The best response I have come up with is “Well, I have a storage area somewhere….”
The truth is that a life-long career with the National Park Service hinges on persistence, work experience, and luck. Even with my several seasons’ worth of experience, I will compete with many others who have as much or more experience as I have. There are several career fields in which people pursue a career in the National Park Service – law enforcement, resource management, administration….. Those who have managed to overcome the obstacles and find a life-long career have a rare dedication and commitment to the mission that supersedes everything else — preserving these special places so that they can be enjoyed by future generations. It is this commitment that helps us overcome the many challenges and obstacles that we face day in and day out, year after year.
As I write this now, I have just finished my season here at Cape Cod National Seashore. I’ve become willing to go almost anywhere in the country at this point to attain a permanent position, so have just submitted another round of applications to various parks throughout the country. I’m hopeful that this time the planets will align, and I will finally receive the phone call I so anxiously wait for. I work at the local department store for the time being to try and make ends meet. The customers I ring up gloves and scarves for today probably can’t imagine that the nice lady in the wool skirt actually is a Park Ranger in her “other” life.
So after all this hardship and uncertainty, do I ever think about doing something else? Not for a minute. Every time I meet a visitor and have the chance to teach them how special national parks are and show them first-hand the wonders they preserve, I feel blessed and incredibly proud of the NPS mission and tradition. So I continue in my quest, and the spirit and body be willing, 30 years from now I’ll still be wearing the green and gray and feeling proud of every moment.
