{"id":40888,"date":"2024-02-16T15:57:46","date_gmt":"2024-02-16T20:57:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/?p=40888"},"modified":"2024-02-16T15:57:46","modified_gmt":"2024-02-16T20:57:46","slug":"maryland-park-service-graduates-21-new-state-park-rangers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/2024\/02\/16\/maryland-park-service-graduates-21-new-state-park-rangers\/","title":{"rendered":"Maryland Park Service Graduates 21 New State Park Rangers"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"width: 379px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53533277141_3874246eb1.jpg\" alt=\"Photo of several uniformed park rangers standing at attention\" width=\"369\" height=\"277\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Maryland&#8217;s State Park Ranger School Class of 2021, photo by AJ Metcalf, Maryland Department of Natural Resources.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dnr.maryland.gov\/publiclands\/Pages\/default.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Maryland Park Service<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> today graduated 21 new State Park Rangers following four weeks of training. The rangers were honored in a ceremony at Elk Neck State Park and NorthBay Adventure Camp.<\/span><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs I have visited our public lands across the state, I have been impressed by the preparedness and dedication of Maryland State Park Rangers,\u201d said Maryland Department of Natural Resources Secretary Josh Kurtz. \u201cThe skills learned during the Ranger training program will be put into practice every day to protect our state\u2019s natural places and help generations of Marylanders enjoy the outdoors.\u201d<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 344px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53533277056_d98c917496.jpg\" alt=\"Photo of ranger receiving a certificate\" width=\"334\" height=\"370\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ranger Myia Tariq (center) receives a certificate from Maryland Park Service Director Angela Crenshaw (left) during the 2024 Maryland State Park Ranger graduation ceremony. Photo by AJ Metcalf, Maryland Department of Natural Resources<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Since the Maryland Park Service\u2019s modern ranger school program was established in 2009, this is the 14th class of new State Park Rangers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cI am proud of the dedication, talent, and passion displayed by each and every graduating park ranger,\u201d said Maryland Park Service Director Angela Crenshaw. \u201c<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">As guardians of our state resources, they are entrusted with not only preserving our parks but also ensuring the safety and enjoyment of all who visit. We eagerly anticipate the positive impact they will make in serving the public and safeguarding parks and natural areas for everyone.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ranger School focuses on the primary jobs of the Maryland Park Ranger \u2013 operations, maintenance, interpretation, and customer service. Students participate in intensive training consisting of practical exercises and written exams. Using real-world scenarios, the rangers-in-training execute emergency response, park operations, search and rescue missions, resource management and more.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In addition to this training, rangers must also complete one year of operational experience to become fully certified.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Maryland Park Service Ranger School 2024 graduates, by work region, are:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Eastern Region<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Chris Danna &#8211; Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Joanna Trojanowski &#8211; Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Central Region\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sean Campbell &#8211; Gunpowder Falls State Park\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Michael Hook &#8211; Gunpowder Falls State Park<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Joseph Horner &#8211; Seneca Creek State Park<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Emma Kehrman &#8211; Seneca Creek State Park<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Robin Reed &#8211; Gunpowder Falls State Park<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ronald Ripperger &#8211; Patapsco Valley State Park<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">James Roberts &#8211; Elk Neck State Park<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Samuel Voso &#8211; Patapsco Valley State Park<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Dylan Wagner &#8211; Seneca Creek State Park<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Southern Region<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Keith Edelen &#8211; Cedarville State Forest (Southern Maryland Recreational Complex)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Kristina Soetje &#8211; Smallwood State Park (Southern Maryland Recreational Complex)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Myia Tariq &#8211; Sandy Point State Park<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Samantha (Sam) Waby &#8211; Calvert Cliffs State Park (Southern Maryland Recreational Complex)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Western Region<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Richard Caputo &#8211; Wolf Den Run<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Kaitlyn Mitchell &#8211; Deep Creek Lake State Park<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Thomas Schlauch &#8211; Cunningham Falls State Park<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Cheryl Sedlak Seaver &#8211; South Mountain Recreational Complex<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Jacob Younker &#8211; Fort Frederick State Park<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Park Service Headquarters<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Annalyn O&#8217;Grady &#8211; Corps Program Manager<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Maryland Park Service today graduated 21 new State Park Rangers following four weeks of training. The rangers were honored in a ceremony at Elk Neck State Park and NorthBay Adventure Camp.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":146,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[957,12],"tags":[4797,5352,5205,4981,4007,4006],"class_list":["post-40888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-appnews","category-parks","tag-angela-crenshaw","tag-josh-kurtz","tag-maryland-park-service","tag-maryland-state-parks","tag-park-rangers","tag-ranger-school"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40888","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/146"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40888"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40888\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40892,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40888\/revisions\/40892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}