SPECIAL DAY OF YOUR CAREER

Prologue

 

On the afternoon of 26^th July, 2020, I was probing my Facebook posts as usual when I suddenly came across a Rangers’ Day Profile Frame made and used by a good number of my Forest Ranger colleagues who were trained by the same college at the same time. It struck me hard this time because I have no clue how the day came into existence although I remember attending the said Day since 2017. Earlier, I did not take any interest in knowing who, where, why and how the Day was established because such celebrations depend on many factors (funds, time, institutional support and more importantly leaders) and I just thought, maybe there are funds, so we are celebrating. But with many Forest Rangers taking a lot of interest in celebrating this Day, it should become a formal Day in the long run. Enthusiasm, interest, zest, zing and institutional support can make this happen every year. In my days as Forest Ranger (in the strictest sense) since October 1998 through to December 2012, such a day was never heard of although I get an understanding through literature search that the Day was established way back in 2007.

Origin of Forest Ranger 

 
Of course, being a medieval world leader, many things in the world starts with England, so is the profession called Rangers who then were employed to “range” through the forests (landscape) to regulate forest resources use, especially poaching. They then had to ensure the forest laws are implemented in the countryside that included royal forests much like the medieval mounted foresters (of course very much in then British sense) and it is the same thing that the current Rangers do as well. The term ranger appears to reflect the Medieval Latin Word regardatores which was first coined in 1217 in the Great Britain Charter of the Forest. Later, regardatores was translated to ranger in English in the charter. Rangers were also then called regarders (in the Charter of the Forest) and their duty was “to go through the forests making the regard as it used to be made at the time of the first coronation of King Henry." The earliest letters patent ranger dates back to 1341 and by 1455 England had "all manner and singular Offices of Foresters and Rangers" of all the aforementioned forests. So, this is how the profession called Ranger started. This especially is interesting to me (one of the reasons that I am blogging), because I studied the Rangers’ Course designed by British in India, their former colony, where discipline is considered more important than understanding the science of the forests and the trees. Even the qualification requirement is quite open. Perhaps to adjust people from all background. You could be just a matriculate or you could have a PhD as well. They have a system of giving 500 marks for your conduct which is included in the overall performance of the trainee students just as good as writing examinations. Simple and straight forward, Bhutan copied the Indian model of forest administration which British left in India (they still have the Forest services colleges for different levels (Range, State Forest Service and Union Forest Service Officers courses at different places) and we get to see our colleagues still getting trained in one or two such colleges in India every year . Thus, our system of professionalizing Ranger is the direct copy of then British Empire so the Rangers of Bhutan are like Rangers of any country in the world.

The word Ranger was resurrected to Warden by Americans in the 19^th and the 20^th centuries. However, the word Ranger has been in continuous use to mean those people who have been charged to take care of a designated forest reserve or parks. There are lots of arguments around about who would have been the world’s first Ranger but I guess, the person would be an English because Ranger as profession starts from there although I don't find it important (but perhaps important for forest historians). It would be of interest to us though if we knew who was the Bhutan's First Ranger. To continue with the origin, the then US Department of the Interior used the term Ranger inside the badge that read “Forest Reserve Ranger” between 1898 and 1906. These insignias were part of the Uniform that the Forest Rangers wore, are wearing and will wear.

From hereon I am plagiarizing the contents of "https://www.internationalrangers.org/" and I put all words from here in the double inverted coma because what we here in Bhutan do is precisely done by the Rangers in the rest of the world too. Thus, there is no need for paraphrasing and rephrasing because of which I am just copy pasting.

Duties, disciplines and specializations

 

The duties of the modern park ranger are as varied and diverse as the parks where they serve and in recent years have become more highly specialized. Regardless of the regular duties of any one discipline, the goal of all rangers remains to protect the park resources for future generations and to protect park visitors. This goal is accomplished by the professionalism and sometimes overlapping of the different divisions. For example, an interpretive ranger may perform a law enforcement role by explaining special park regulations to visitors and encouraging them to be proper stewards of natural and cultural history. Law enforcement rangers and other park employees may contribute to the mission of the interpretive ranger by providing information to park visitors about park resources and facilities. The spirit of teamwork in accomplishing the mission of protecting the parks and people is underscored by the fact that in many cases, for the U.S. National Park Rangers in particular, all park rangers share a common uniform regardless of work assignment.

Law enforcement

 

Law enforcement rangers have police powers and enforce national, state, provincial, and/or local laws as well as park regulations. In some developing countries, the park rangers patrolling natural preserves may be heavily armed and function as paramilitary organizations against organized poachers or even guerrillas. In many other developing countries however, park rangers have law enforcement authority and do carry firearms as they seek to achieve respect for nature by building good relationships with local communities and the visiting public. In units of the U.S. National Park System, Law Enforcement Rangers are the primary police agency; their services may be augmented by the US Park Police, particularly in the Washington, DC and San Francisco metropolitan areas. The U.S. National Park Service also has a section of "Special Agents" who conduct more complex criminal investigations. According to U.S. Department of Justice statistics, National Park Service Law Enforcement Rangers suffer the highest number of felonious assaults, and the highest number of homicides of all federal law enforcement officers. The City of New York has a uniformed division of Park Rangers called the New York City Parks Enforcement Patrol who are responsible for patrolling the city parks, pools and beaches.

Interpretation and education

 

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 programs to visitors intended to foster stewardship of the resources by the visitor as a method of resource protection. 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. Rangers may also engage in leading more formalized curriculum-based educational programs, meant to support and complement instruction received by visiting students in traditional academic settings and often designed to help educators meet specific national and/or local standards of instruction. 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.

Emergency response

 

Rangers are often trained in wilderness first aid and participate in search and rescue to locate lost persons in the wilderness. Many national parks require law enforcement rangers to maintain certification as Emergency Medical Responders, Emergency Medical Technicians, or Paramedics. Depending on the needs of the park where assigned, rangers may participate in high-angle rescue, swift-water rescue, may be certified scuba divers, and can become specially trained as helicopter pilots or crew members.

Firefighting

 

Rangers are often the first to spot forest fires and are often trained to engage in wild land firefighting and in some cases structural firefighting. Rangers also enforce laws and regulations regarding campfires and other fires on park lands. In the face of a fire outside their control, rangers will call for help and evacuate persons from the area pending the arrival of additional firefighters.

Dispatcher

 

Some rangers work as park protection dispatchers, answering emergency calls and dispatching law enforcement rangers, park fire fighters or Park EMS crews by radio to emergency calls for service. Park Dispatchers provide pre-arrival instructions to callers to help them stay alive until responding units arrive. Dispatchers coordinate multi-agency responses to emergencies within the park boundaries and utilize computer systems to check for criminal histories of subjects stopped by park law enforcement rangers. Park Dispatchers typically perform other duties such as taking lost-and-found reports, monitoring CCTV surveillance cameras and fire alarms. Dispatchers are assigned to the Park Protection Division.

Scientists and scholars

 

Rangers are responsible for protecting the natural resources or cultural sites for which they work. This includes obtaining and preserving knowledge about the area. As such, many different types of historians and scientists are employed as rangers. Some scientific positions often filled by rangers include archaeologist, many different types of biologist, ecologist, fire scientist, geologist, hydrologist, paleontologist, soil scientist, volcanologist, etc. Rangers in these positions are expected to study, monitor, and inform others (in the form of published, peer-reviewed scientific papers as well as internally) about their findings. These people add to the knowledge dispersed in interpretive and educational programs, and provide information needed by managers and others to more effectively protect the resource.

Maintenance

 

Some rangers perform regular maintenance on infrastructure or equipment such as fire rings as part of their duties — especially in preparing for winter closures and spring reopenings. Rangers are often the first to discover vandalism or weather-related damage to park roads, trails and campgrounds.

Administration

 

In many cases administrative staff members are categorized officially as park rangers and may wear the distinct park ranger uniform while working "behind the scenes" to ensure the continued operation of the parks. These rangers may set policy for the parks, or handle park budgets, computers and technology, human resources, or other fields related to the administration of parks. In the case of management these positions are usually filled by individuals who have moved up from other field-based positions. These individuals are often heavily cross trained in order to allow for a knowledge of all other areas and duties under their authority (See my once multi-talented colleagues in the figure below).

 Remembering my Trashigang Team Mates on the eve of 2020 World Rangers' Day

 

Worldwide ranger deficit in developing countries

 

The Adopt A Ranger Foundation has calculated that worldwide about 150,000 rangers are needed for the protected areas in developing and transitions countries. There is no data on how many rangers are employed at the moment, but probably less than half the protected areas in developing and transition countries have any rangers at all and those that have them are at least 50% short. This means that there would be a worldwide ranger deficit of 105,000 rangers in the developing and transition countries.

One of the world's foremost conservationists, Dr. Kenton Miller, stated about the importance of rangers: "The future of our ecosystem services and our heritage depends upon park rangers. With the rapidity at which the challenges to protected areas are both changing and increasing, there has never been more of a need for well-prepared human capacity to manage. Park rangers are the backbone of park management. They are on the ground. They work on the front line with scientists, visitors, and members of local communities."

Adopt A Ranger fears that the ranger deficit is the single greatest limiting factor in effectively protecting nature in 75% of the world. Currently, no conservation organization or Western country or international organization addresses this problem. Adopt A Ranger has been incorporated to draw worldwide public attention to the most urgent problem that conservation is facing in developing and transition countries: protected areas without field staff. Specifically, it will contribute to solving the problem by fund raising to finance rangers in the field. It will also help governments in developing and transition countries to assess realistic staffing needs and staffing strategies.

Around the globe, park rangers are on the front line in the fight to protect our natural heritage. World Ranger Day offers a chance to support their vital work, which ranges from environmental campaigning to education. The day is also an opportunity to pay tribute to rangers who have lost their lives in the line of duty. It’s estimated there are more than 100,000 reserves, parks and protected areas around the world. World Ranger Day was created by the International Ranger Federation and was first held in 2007. Many mistakenly think America’s Yellowstone National Park is the oldest national park in the world, but there’s one that is over 100 years older. Established by the Mongolian government in 1778, the area surrounding Bogd Khan Uul Mountain is the oldest national park in the world. Many events are being staged around the world, including guided walks and screenings of the documentary The Thin Green Line. If there isn’t an event in your area, you could organize one – and help to raise awareness of the vital role performed by custodians of the world’s parks.

Learn about World Ranger Day

 

World Ranger Day is celebrated to commemorate Rangers that have been injured or killed in the line of duty. It also celebrates all of the work that Rangers do around the world to protect the cultural heritage and natural treasures of the planet.  

What is a Ranger?

 

A Ranger typically refers to a forest ranger or a park ranger. A Ranger is a person that is charged with preserving and protecting parklands and natural protected areas. Rangers will usually work with other volunteers and staff members in order to maintain bridges, stiles, gates, and footpaths. They are also the eyes and ears of the national park authority, spending most of their time out and about. They provide contact between the national park authority and between local people and visitors. Rangers need to have a lot of local knowledge of the history of the national park and the wildlife, as well as where to go and what to see. They help answer questions about the park from the public. However, their work goes a lot further than this. They also have to look out for any potential problems, and because they are dealing with live animals, it can be very risky. To become a Ranger, practical skills and the right knowledge are needed. Aside from this, a degree in environmental management, conservation, or a similar subject is typically required.

The true dangers of being a park ranger

 

You may think that the real danger of being a park ranger comes from the animals and the national landscape. In fact, you would be wrong! Statistics show that park rangers are facing more dangers than ever before. Assaults on park rangers are at an all-time high. In fact, park rangers are more likely to be assaulted than FBI agents and border patrol officers! A lot of experts have spoken about the increased risk, and they believe it is down to the fact that there are more park visitors than ever before but there 50 percent less rangers today as there used to be in the ‘80s. Therefore, while Rangers are often dealing with wild animals and their safety is at risk in this sense, this is not the only danger that they need to worry about. 

History of World Ranger Day

 

The first World Ranger Day took place in 2007, the date represented the 15th anniversary of when the IRF was founded. IRF stands for the International Ranger Federation. This organization was founded in 1992. It was founded when the ANPR (U.S. Association of National Park Rangers), SCRA (Scottish Countryside Rangers Association), and the CMA (Countryside Management Association, which represents rangers in Wales and England), got together and signed a joint agreement. This agreement was to raise support and awareness of the critical work that rangers around the globe do when it comes to conserving cultural and natural heritage. 

How to celebrate World Ranger Day

 

There are a number of different ways that you can celebrate World Ranger Day and get involved. This includes the following.

Raise money for Ranger projects

 

One of the ways that you can play honor to rangers of the world on World Ranger Day is by raising funds for all of the critical work that Rangers do. There are a lot of different causes that you can raise funds for. This includes supporting the families of fallen Rangers, as well as raising funds for equipping and training Rangers in the field.

To fundraise effectively, you need to have an idea that is going to raise money and get other people involved. A lot of people like to do things that involve the community. For example, you could organize a fun run, a cake sale, or something along these lines. The idea does not need to be complicated. You need to get other people involved. If you raise money and awareness, you have done your job! Of course, you can also raise money through other means. For example, you could make a craft or a certain type of product, and you can sell it online or in the local area. You can then donate all of the profits, or at least some of them, to helping out Rangers and their families.

Pause for a moment

 

Another way to celebrate World Ranger Day is to simply take the time to think about everything that Rangers have done for the world. Simply pause for a moment and think about all of the Rangers who have made the ultimate sacrifice in protecting our planet’s cultural heritage and natural treasures. 

Spread the word and raise awareness

 

Of course, we can have already mentioned how you can raise awareness through fundraising. However, you can also spread the word and raise awareness through the likes of blogging and social media. There are lots of great pieces of content online, including infographics and fact sheets, which you can share with others to try and raise awareness about the work that Rangers do. Of course, you could write your own personal message to spread the word to your friends, family, and followers. It is up to you.

Host an event

 

Another way to celebrate World Ranger Day is to host an event. You can organize an event at your favorite place, community center, school, work, or even your home, and invite your loved ones. Mark the occasion by learning about everything that Rangers do, and making others aware of this. You can then inspire them to join the cause.

So, there you have it: an insight into World Ranger Day. This is a great opportunity for you to learn more about all of the incredible work that Rangers do and the dangers that they put themselves in on a daily basis.

A lot of people do not stop and think about this, and so it is nice to be able to take the day and show Rangers just how much we appreciate them. As well as paying our respect to those that have lost their lives in this job.