Hiking partner

[Piney Boy]

Thanks for the kind words, and while my salary doesn't set the world on fire, it's definitely livable. Rangers in the NPS can earn a decent living today, trouble is trying to find the jobs. With the current administration there is a much greater push for Law Enforcement, and less for those trained in the arts, interpretation, and back-country skills. Perhaps we will see a change with the next regime.
Oh, and I would suggest USA Jobs for any and all who have thought about a career in forestry or the ranger field, you just may be pleasantly surprised by what you find.

 

[Piney Boy]

Gee, I didn't know NJ was poor. With the highest median income in the country you'd think we could afford more rangers.
Somehow poor ol' NY has wilderness camping FOR FREE!!!! And somehow they even managed to build lean-tos at some of the sites. Maybe if good ol' Gov Corzine didn't blow all our money on that Super Bowl party that I saw he was having as I passed by on Sunday, we could afford some more rangers. And I mean rangers, not cops, but someone that know about the Pines.

Steve

Its not neccesarily that the state doesn't have any money, its that it appears they dont want to spend in the PineLands or South Jersey for that matter. Most trail maintenance and protection appears to take place on the A.T. in the north, as well as northern parks. Every time I go to Penn State Forest I say to myself that its one of the best sights in NJ, yet its off state radar. With this its open to vandalism, car clouting, and general resource abuse.
All I can come up with is that the state doesn't care about Southern resources outside of the beaches. Perhaps we here could do something about it, get the word spread and make it more public. Just a thought.

 

[RMICKLE]

Its not neccesarily that the state doesn't have any money, its that it appears they dont want to spend in the PineLands or South Jersey for that matter. Most trail maintenance and protection appears to take place on the A.T. in the north, as well as northern parks. Every time I go to Penn State Forest I say to myself that its one of the best sights in NJ, yet its off state radar. With this its open to vandalism, car clouting, and general resource abuse.
All I can come up with is that the state doesn't care about Southern resources outside of the beaches. Perhaps we here could do something about it, get the word spread and make it more public. Just a thought.

Trenton can’t give money away fast enough, both R’s and D’s, and they’ve been balancing the budget the last bunch of years with one time fixes. Unfortunately Piney Boy is correct. Sorry for the soapbox.

Roy

 

[Piney Boy]

Trenton can’t give money away fast enough, both R’s and D’s, and they’ve been balancing the budget the last bunch of years with one time fixes. Unfortunately Piney Boy is correct. Sorry for the soapbox.

Roy

Climb that soapbox my friend! Its about time the administration above us recognized the inherint value of the Pines and the Southern reaches of the State in general.

 

[4x4Jim]

Piney Boy. How did you become a forest ranger? I am seriously interested in a "job relocation" The work I do now is killing me and I would rather do something I love. I have a good friend of my family that used to be a veteran ranger in Wharton that may help.. What kind of schooling etc... Also I am a Automotive Tech in SJ. Is there jobs that involve maybe working on the Ranger vehicles but also patrolling the forest?? ANy info would be a life saver. Thanks, Jim

 

[Ben Ruset]

To become a ranger in NJ you need to have a bachelors degree in Environmental Science or Forestry. In addition, you need 15-30 (IIRC) credits in Law Enforcement. After you are hired as a ranger you can be assigned to any post within the state. There is no way to get hired just to work in Wharton, for example.

There is, however, a deputy conservation officer program. I am not 100% sure of the specifics (I am typing this from the bus and my internet connection is dog slow) but anybody can join, providing that you commit a certain amount of time to the position and buy your own equipment. I am not really certain what equipment they want you to buy.

Finally, even the Wharton rangers don't spend 100% of their time in the woods. There is a lot of paperwork, going to court to be a witness against all the people that you've fined, etc. From what I understand what people think the job is is more romantic than what the job actually is.

I could be totally off-base. If any of the rangers who lurk read this, please feel free to chime in with your opinions.

 

[Piney Boy]

Jim,
Looks like our wise administrator gave you the info on Jersey, I'll see about filling in the blanks for a National Park Ranger. First the NPS has a variety of rangers that do a variety of jobs. As much as I would love to be one, I am not a backcountry ranger. My current position is Conservation Ranger at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. I care and help preserve thousands of objects and a group of buildings; these include Independence Hall, The Liberty Bell, first drafts of America's founding documents and many, many others. I have two history degrees; a B.A. and an M.A. in history, and a minor in wildlife management. To get a ranger job with NPS you need at least a Bachelors degree. I also have taken Leave No Trace classes, N.O.L.S. wilderness classes and a variety the Park service has sent me to. Two years ago the NPS sent me to northwestern Arizona were I got to hike and climb, along with taking great classes provided by super educators.
Some of the most sought after jobs are those involving backcountry work. Some of these are commisioned law enforcement jobs and others are interpretive jobs (which is what I am trying to get into). The Law Enforcement are just what they seem to be, patroling sites, making arrest, writing out permits, etc. The intepretive jobs give educational tours, backcountry lectures, write programs, and generally help with upkeep of sites.
The easiest way to get one, or any of these jobs, is to be willing to work just about anywhere. In not doing so, you narrow your field and make competition extremely tough. Use USA Jobs on the net, it is a listing of evry type of job the govt. offers. Please feel free to drop me a line with any questions, I would be more than happy to discuss any and all aspects of this work. As a last thought,your mechanic skills are definitely useful in the govt., we employ a variety of mechanics.
Joe~