New ranger settles in at Kinni State Park
Park Ranger Richard Bark moved into the residence at Kinnickinnic State Park in the town of Clifton late last year, becoming its new “guardian.” He grew up in the Baldwin area and said taking the job felt like coming home again.By: Debbie Griffin, Pierce County Herald
Park Ranger Richard Bark moved into the residence at Kinnickinnic State Park in the town of Clifton late last year, becoming its new “guardian.”
He grew up in the Baldwin area and said taking the job felt like coming home again.
For the past 10 years, Bark has worked as a ranger in the Copper Falls State Park in Mellen. He’s been a DNR employee since 2000.
Bark said the job at Kinni represented a promotion -- it includes better pay but more duties.
Bark said he saw the job opening posted online.
“I had to compete like anybody else for the position,” Bark said.
He responded to three essay questions, the answers to which a panel in Madison ranked. Next he went to an interview at the DNR’s regional office in Eau Claire.
Duties call for him to do daily patrols in the 1,242-acre park; check to see if visitors need admission stickers; sell permits and stickers; answer park-related phone calls and e-mails; groom the park’s six miles of trails; plow snow; and answer lots of questions, among other things.
Bark said a ranger’s duties also change a bit with the seasons. For example, winter snow plowing gives way to summer lawn mowing and volunteer coordination.
He clarifies, “All rangers in a state park are credentialed law-enforcement officers.”
Bark carries a firearm and, like his counterparts, has full powers to arrest.
There are three classifications of park ranger, all of which require credentials and adherence to Department of Justice standards.
For more please read the March 16 print version of the Herald.
Tags: outdoors
More from around the web
RSS Feeds