OntarioHunter
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- Sep 11, 2020
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He may paint a rosy picture of a park service career but I certainly didn't see it that way. My experience, with just two notable exceptions, was working in a toxic environment of managers ridiculously out of their intellectual ability and staff so desperate to survive in a world of seasonal and tenacious "full time" employment (that was invariably anything but full time), they do anything to climb the ladder ... brown nosing, back stabbing, etc. My exposure to law enforcement was limited but I didn't see much that was different on that end. Resource management and interpretation was generally a shitshow of grandiose incompetence. I loved working with the public. Loved it. But working for the NPS was awful. I could definitely fill a book with stories that would make anyone scratch their head.SEND A RANGER
Tom Habecker, who has retired to a home appearing much like a ranger station in the woods of the Bridger Mountains near Bozeman, wrote an enthralling and descriptive book detailing thirty-two adventurous years as a park ranger in some of America’s most historic and scenic National Parks. He chronicles his training and experiences from newbie ranger to highly qualified and experienced top-level ranger.
His stories of exciting projects, challenges, and adventures in Yosemite, Glacier, and Denali National Parks are fascinating and highly impressive. Tom’s medical training evolved increasingly to often life-saving advanced EMT skills. SAR (Search And Rescue) operations became second nature to him as he organized and implemented plans and operations to find lost or injured park adventurers, and sadly, dealt with fatalities. Wildland and structural firefighting skills also became part of the skillset and were dramatically employed on a number of stressful occasions.
Habecker’s career included the fun and adventures dreamt of by young boys and girls and aspired to by backcountry enthusiasts and thrill seeking adults. Continuously gaining experience and abilities involved trapping and “managing” bears, flying many hours in helicopters and planes, horseback patrols, investigating and dealing with criminal activities (including murder), and surviving many wilderness challenges, often on his own. Tom mushed huskies, skied, hiked, snowmobiled and rode horseback countless miles across isolated wilderness areas “just doing his job” as a ranger. His family, wife and two girls, always close at hand, experienced a stimulating and adventurous lifestyle, enjoying the parks and wilderness as few are able.
Although not one to tout his own abilities, his vivid descriptions of events and interactions with others whom he often praised attest to his own high level of management and professional interpersonal skills. Accounts of the continuous educational and welcoming interactions with tourists paints a portrait of the ranger we all are so delighted to meet in our National Parks.
It is difficult to encapsulate the wonderful essence of this book in a few paragraphs. It’s a great read, the kind you focus on looking forward to the next adventure … then turn the page back to ensure you didn’t miss anything in that story!