When he or she spots smoke in the distance, a call is made to the firefighters
to investigate before the fire gets out of hand. However, that is
but one of the many duties performed by Forest Rangers.
may be cut down for lumber and other uses. They examine trees to
determine if they are healthy or if some disease has infected them and,
if so, what must be done to save the tree and those nearby. Forest
Rangers also act as peace officers in that they make sure that those who
use America's national forests are safe and act safely. They report
on the use and the condition of the forests and they instruct people who
use those forests for recreation how to best use them and how to use them
safely.
There are colleges that give courses in forestry and biology with particular
emphasis on the plant and animal life of the forest. They are also
trained by the United States Department of the Interior who is the largest
employer of Forest Rangers in the United States and similar agencies in
other countries. The United States and Canada have the largest number
of Forest Rangers, but they are training people in other countries to care
for their woodlands.
Calvin is a city kid. He didn't know an Oak Tree from a pine cone when he got the chance to spend a summer with the uncle of a friend. The uncle was a Forest Ranger in a National Forest in Montana. The first thing that Calvin noticed about Montana was that it was not the city, at least not where his friend's uncle lived. The second was that it was cold at night, even in summer.
His friend's uncle drove a sports utility vehicle and spent his entire
day in the forests. He taught Calvin and his friend about trees and
about the creatures of the forest such as possums, bears, racoons and cougars.
Calvin decided that he would give bears and cougars a wide berth should
he encounter any.
Calvin also learned about how one should act in the forest, how one should treat our natural resources. It was a time unlike any that he had ever experienced before. The woods were so quiet and smelled so good. The nights were so clear that he could see to the top of the universe. He never saw so many stars as they had in Montana; his friend's aunt told him that there only seemed to be more because they were easier to see outside the city where there is no dust in the air and city light to dim them. And the trees... The trees were as tall as building, not short and stunted like even those in the park
back
home. They were high and their branches spread wide overhead intermingling
with those of their neighbors.
After the third day, he no longer missed his computer games. After the second week, he lost all desire to return to the city. When the summer ended, he asked if he could return the following year.
When he returned to the city, Calvin told his mother that he was going to be a Forest Ranger one day.
