What are you currently reading?

Straight Arrow said:
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!
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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.
 
OntarioHunter said:
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.
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I am truly sorry for your poor experience(s) and I'm sure you have some good stories.
However, it is not fair to downplay nor disparage this exciting and positive account of working and adventuring in some of America's most wild and beautiful places.
Having spent over thirty years wearing the Army uniform and spending couple of tours in combat zone, I can also speak to many "unpleasantries" and less than honorable personnel ... but I prefer to recall positive memories and truly noteworthy folks. I can only suggest to keep your glass at least half full. You can do that without losing recall of the "bad spills" too.
 
Straight Arrow said:
I am truly sorry for your poor experience(s) and I'm sure you have some good stories.
However, it is not fair to downplay nor disparage this exciting and positive account of working and adventuring in some of America's most wild and beautiful places.
Having spent over thirty years wearing the Army uniform and spending couple of tours in combat zone, I can also speak to many "unpleasantries" and less than honorable personnel ... but I prefer to recall positive memories and truly noteworthy folks. I can only suggest to keep your glass at least half full. You can do that without losing recall of the "bad spills" too.
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Indeed. And if I wrote a book, it would not be all bad experiences. However, I would caution anyone who reads something that is all sugar coated about making any conclusions re pursuing an NPS career. Those who really are not dedicated to the principles of the Organic Act but are simply enamored with wearing the campaign hat at any cost, they may find success working for the the NPS. Those whose principles run a little deeper will find it a challenge.

I put in my time in the US Army, even an extra year more than required. Law enforcement actually. My skin was not thick enough to make a career of it. Quality management is not a top priority in the armed forces but in my opinion the NPS was much worse.
 
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OntarioHunter said:
Indeed. And if I wrote a book, it would not be all bad experiences. However, I would caution anyone who reads something that is all sugar coated about making any conclusions about pursuing an NPS career. Those who really are not dedicated to the principles of the Organic Act but are simply enamored with wearing the campaign hat at any cost, they may find success working for the the NPS. Those whose principles run a little deeper will find it a challenge.
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Haven't walked in your shoes ... 'don't think I want to.
 
OntarioHunter said:
Indeed. And if I wrote a book, it would not be all bad experiences. However, I would caution anyone who reads something that is all sugar coated about making any conclusions re pursuing an NPS career. Those who really are not dedicated to the principles of the Organic Act but are simply enamored with wearing the campaign hat at any cost, they may find success working for the the NPS. Those whose principles run a little deeper will find it a challenge.

I put in my time in the US Army, even an extra year more than required. Law enforcement actually. My skin was not thick enough to make a career of it. Quality management is not a top priority in the armed forces but in my opinion the NPS was much worse.
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Yes, your first post said there were two, only two, exceptions that prevented it from being "all bad".

I can easily imagine how you had such a miserable time, though I doubt your principles run particularly "deep" from what I've seen.
 
BrentD said:
Yes, your first post said there were two, only two, exceptions that prevented it from being "all bad".

I can easily imagine how you had such a miserable time, though I doubt your principles run particularly "deep" from what I've seen.
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You need to get your eyes checked. For example: At Katmai Park as an interpreter (who was also compelled to do LE and bear tech functions... probably illegally) I informed visitors at Brooks Falls that what they were encountering was almost entirely artificial. Not natural. People (particularly a National Geographic film crew) didn't like to hear that. They complained and my boss called me in. "You can't tell them that. This is all natural. We're not running a zoo." Really? If these folks get out of a canoe or boat up the Savoniski River during the salmon run are those brown bears going to let them walk up and take a photo? Or lay alongside the trail while they walk by? Hell no! For four thousand years, up to the 1970s, there were no bears at Brooks Falls. That's because hundreds of Native folks lived there and they killed any bear that showed up. The Park Service CREATED that tourist attraction by altering not only the natural landscape, but also the very nature of the bears. Similarly, George Hartzog in his book brags how as NPS director he tricked the federal govt into building the arch at St Louis (and in the process destroyed the historic buildings on the Missouri waterfront). Bragged about building a tourist trap for the NPS. Read the Organic Act. The National Park Service is to preserve and protect the natural and historic wonders for the enjoyment of future generations. I am certainly "deep" enough to know what Hartzog and Tollefson (the former supt who brags about making Brooks Camp into a bear viewing tourist destination) did conflicts with the NPS mandate.
 
OntarioHunter said:
You need to get your eyes checked. For example: At Katmai Park as an interpreter (who was also compelled to do LE and bear tech functions... probably illegally) I informed visitors at Brooks Falls that what they were encountering was almost entirely artificial. Not natural. People (particularly a National Geographic film crew) didn't like to hear that. They complained and my boss called me in. "You can't tell them that. This is all natural. We're not running a zoo." Really? If these folks get out of a canoe or boat up the Savoniski River during the salmon run are those brown bears going to let them walk up and take a photo? Or lay alongside the trail while they walk by? Hell no! For four thousand years, up to the 1970s, there were no bears at Brooks Falls. That's because hundreds of Native folks lived there and they killed any bear that showed up. The Park Service CREATED that tourist attraction by altering not only the natural landscape, but also the very nature of the bears. Similarly, George Hartzog in his book brags how as NPS director he tricked the federal govt into building the arch at St Louis (and in the process destroyed the historic buildings on the Missouri waterfront). Bragged about building a tourist trap for the NPS. Read the Organic Act. The National Park Service is to preserve and protect the natural and historic wonders for the enjoyment of future generations. I am certainly "deep" enough to know what Hartzog and Tollefson (the former supt who brags about making Brooks Camp into a bear viewing tourist destination) did conflicts with the NPS mandate.
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Good thing you're smarter than them.
 
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My wife and I have been reading a few stories a night. The pioneers of the west were some pretty tough dudes.
 
Ghost Soldiers by Hampton Sides. The unbelievable true story of what some of our fathers did rescuing POW's in WWll. A superb book!
 
Endure, Cameron Hanes. Turning Feral, Zachary Craig Hanson. Son of a Poacher, Scott C. Werbelow. All 3 are excellent.
 
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