Federal - Forest Ranger

Forest rangers that are employed by the federal government work in national parks to ensure the safety of both humans and nature in the park. They monitor the use of the park, enforce rules of the park, and provide educational opportunities to park visitors. The education can be done through guided hiking, canoeing or walking tours of the park where the forest ranger talks about various birds, plants, insects and animals in their natural setting through to developing signs and brochures for visitors to take self-guided tours.

Forest rangers or naturalists may also participate in collecting information on the changing aspects of the park. This is often complete by doing annual counts of specific species of birds, plants an animals and comparing them to counts from previous years. The forest ranger may also note any environmental variable that may lead to a change in the count such as a natural disaster, fire or late or early freeze in the park that may affect the numbers.

Forest rangers are also available to answer questions posed by visitors, attend schools and community group meeting to talk about preservation of wild areas and parks, as well as enjoy working in nature. Since a lot of the job is walking and being outdoors it is important for a forest ranger to stay in shape. They also participate in locating lost visitors, tracking down injured animals or checking on remote locations and forestry cabins during the off-season. Some forest rangers work seasonally while others work year round, usually based on seniority.

Common work activities include:

• Developing information in the form of booklets, information on websites, brochures and signs about various aspects of the national park.
• Answering visitor's questions, providing information and directions to guests.
• Leading tours, groups or hikes through the forest providing information on natural or historical sites.
• Participating in counts of various species found in the park, entering data on computers and hard copy records.
• Using GPS and other devices to help to locate people that may be lost in the park.
• Monitoring park conditions especially in times of drought or natural disasters such as forest fires, hurricanes or extreme snow conditions.
• Providing information to schools and community groups as requested.

Programs related to Federal - Forest Ranger careers

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