Last updated: October 20, 2022
Article
Living the Ranger Life
Although many of the early women rangers are familiar in name, the details of their careers in the National Park Service (NPS) are perhaps less well known. The inspiring parts of their stories are regularly shared, particularly for those anointed with the titles of “first woman this” or “first woman that.” Press coverage of these early rangers was positive and reinforced the romance of ranger life. The realities of being a woman on the NPS ranger force, however, are not as well known and are less glamourous than the headlines suggest.
Short but Sweet
All but two of the women rangers known to have been hired between 1916 and 1927 had temporary appointments. Many of the positions were categorized as “WAE” (when actually employed), which meant that they could be easily laid off when not needed. Most did not have long careers in the NPS. Ten worked for just one season. Eight returned for a second season, but only five worked longer than that. Of course, there were a lot of men who had temporary appointments during that same time, but men were more likely to get permanent jobs. As Horace M. Albright remarked in a 1978 oral history interview, “There was no hope for permanency for a women ranger in those days.”
In fact, two women were the exception to the rule. Mary Sullivan had a permanent ranger position at Glacier National Park from 1924 to 1930. Marguerite Lindsley became a permanent ranger at Yellowstone National Park in December 1925, after three summers as a temporary ranger. Both of their permanent positions were WAE and the women didn't work year round.
Starting salaries in the early 1920s ranged from $75 to $100 per month depending on location. When uniformed, employees had to pay for their uniforms out of their own pockets. Park housing costs were also deducted from paychecks. On the bright side, the Classification Act of 1923 required equal pay for equal work for federal employees and, after that date, the women earned the same salary as men rangers at the same grade level. Like the men, women who returned for additional seasons often received promotions or pay rises.
Ranger Irene Wisdom officially worked at the Sylvan Pass ranger station in Yellowstone from 1924 to 1930. She had also worked without pay for several years prior as an "assistant" to her ranger husband. In 1928 Wisdom reported working a regular 6am to 9pm schedule, averaging 84 hours per week. That summer her salary was $130 per month or approximately 39 cents per hour.
Employment records at the time noted that "park rangers are subject to duty at all hours of the day, although they are rarely called for service between the hours of 10pm and 6am."
One Thing in Common
Many picture young women in their minds’ eyes when thinking of these early rangers. In truth, they ranged from 18 to 57 years of age when first appointed. Some grew up in the West, while others came from the Midwest and East Coast. Many found that NPS jobs were A Family Affair. Although some had college degrees, most did not.
Their duties were as varied as their backgrounds. They provided tours, staffed information desks, worked in museums, completed office duties, rode mounted patrols, worked at park entrance stations, collected plants, surveyed wildlife, tended injured animals, safe-guarded gate receipts, registered automobiles, issued permits, wrote reports, sealed guns so that they couldn’t be used inside the park, and even occasionally made arrests. In spite of these differences, they had one important thing in common. They said “yes” to the question How Would You Like to be a Park Ranger?
Explore More!
To learn more about Women and the NPS Uniform, visit Dressing the Part: A Portfolio of Women's History in the NPS.