Park rangers are nature lovers by nature. They enjoy being and working outside. Perhaps it is the fresh air that they enjoy so much. Or, it is the wide open space. It could also be the interaction with the park visitors or all of the above.
Whatever it is that drives someone to the park ranger profession, one thing is for sure, they must also enjoy wearing many hats. This is because park rangers get involved in so many things in the course of doing their job. In this article, I will discuss the many hats a park ranger could wear in discharging his or her duties.
In no particular order of importance, they are:
1. The park ranger could be called to wear the hat of a law enforcement officer. This will mean ticketing or arresting a park visitor.
You see, just as in anywhere else in life, the law can be broken in the park. For example, a park visitor can indulge in too much alcohol consumption in the cause of enjoying what the park has to offer. And we know what too much alcohol consumption can lead to. This person can become unruly or abusive to other park visitors.
In this case, it is the job of the park ranger to arrest or evict the person from the park. The failure of the park ranger to do this, could lead to dangerous situations. One of them could be somebody getting killed or seriously injured.
2. The park ranger could be called upon to control forest fire. Forest fire can be devastating. Families have lost their homes and valuables because of forest fire. Add to this the loss of wildlife. Then, you begin to understand why it is important to control forest fire.
Park rangers are one of the government agencies entrusted with controlling forest fire. They must watch park visitors to make sure they don't start fires that can rage out of hand. Something as simple as throwing a cigarette butt out can start a forest fire. While ordinary park visitors may not know this, park rangers know this too well. So they must educate and watch park visitors to keep this from happening.
3. The park ranger could be called to wear the hat of a search and rescue person. It is quite easy for park visitors to wander too far from other people. This is especially so for children. They can easily stray too far from their family and not be able to find their way back. In this case, the park ranger must help locate them before something harmful happens to them.
Another thing that also easily gets lost in the park is animals. Dogs and cats are perfect examples. One minute they could be with their owners, the next minute they could run too far into the woods. Here again, the ranger must come to the rescue.
The park ranger does indeed wear many hats. I have only scratched the surface. If you are interested in the park ranger career, I encourage you to do more research on what you will be doing on the job. This way, you will have no surprises after you get into the profession. You can do so by visiting websites which cover the park ranger career in more detail.
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