Fun Facts from the Junior Ranger Booklet
National Park Service
The National Park Service is a part of the federal government of the United States. It was created in 1916 to protect and preserve the outstanding natural, cultural and historical areas of this country for the people of the United States. The National Park Service preserves over 380 of these special places in monuments, parks, battlefields, and along seashores in just about every state.
What is a Ranger?
A Ranger's job is to protect and take care of the park, so your grandchildren can see the same kinds of trees and birds you saw. They teach people how special these parks are, enforce important rules, and build trails to make sure plants and animals are not hurt by visitors.
Law Enforcement Division
Law Enforcement Rangers make sure the park is safe for plants and animals, as well as for people.
Maintenance Division
Maintenance Rangers keep the park clean and safe for visitors and for the plants and animals that live here. Maintenance Rangers keep the trails open, build and repair the park's boardwalks, maintain the building's, and ensure the park is neat and clean.
Resource Management Division
A Resource Management Ranger keeps track of what is found in the park, identifies threats and recommends solutions. That includes making lists of animals and plants, finding out about any problems and learning as much as possible about the land and water resources in the park.
Interpretive Division
Rangers of this division are called Interpreters or Naturalists. These Rangers answer questions and educate visitors.
Administrative Division
The Administrative Division of the park is made of men and women not often seen by visitors. They work in offices and see to the smooth running of the park. These are some of their duties.
- They take care of buying the equipment the Rangers need to do their jobs.
- They answer letters and pay bills for the park.
- They hire Rangers.
Superindendent
Each park has someone in charge of all of the divisions. This person is called the superintendent and is like the principal of a school. He or she is responsible for making sure the Rangers do their jobs well. The Superintendent oversees the protection of all resources of the park.
Lunch Time
What did you bring for lunch? Where did you get it? We buy food for our meals in supermarkets. Where do animals get their food? The forest is their supermarket, and they have plenty of choices. This is why people should not feed animals in the park. Animals are used to their own food and may get very ill from eating our food. Animals don't need to eat cookies, bread or potato chips any more than people need to eat grass, bark or beetles.
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