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Proceedings
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The Field Of Education In The National Parks
The Educational Program And Its Place In National Parks Administration
Administration Of Park Museums
Scientific Aspects Of The Park Protection Program
The Research Program In The National Parks
Use Of Recorded Scientific Data
Libraries In The National Parks
Photography And Visual Education
General Administrative Problems
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Proceedings Of The
First Park Naturalists' Training Conference Held At Educational
Headquarters, Berkeley, California:
November 1-30, 1929 |
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ADMINISTRATION AND MISCELLANEOUS
GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE PROBLEMS
November 29, 30, 1929.
No papers were prepared for these two last days of the Conference. Time was devoted to intensive discussion of administrative problems, particularly such as are common to most parks. The following summary is briefed from the minutes of the meetings.
Standards for the Selection of Ranger Naturalists: (Discussion by George C. Ruhle.)
There should be some variation in standards in the selection of ranger naturalists. Although our work with the public usually requires that a man be especially competent to guide, lecture, and meet the public, certain members of our staff may be chosen because they are specialists in lines of work in which the park requires research.
Ordinarily the ranger naturalist should have a well rounded scientific background. The following three factors, however, may to some degree offset technical knowledge:
(1) Ability to learn
(2) Industry
(3) Love of subject.
The ranger naturalist should also have a personality which is pleasing to the public. In lecturing, nature guiding, and announcing various activities this quality is almost indispensable. People will often follow a ranger naturalist if he has a pleasing personality where under ordinary circumstances they would not have contemplated the trip.
The ranger naturalist should have the ability of distinguishing in the field the interesting from uninteresting and the important from the unimportant -- or he should at least be able to make things interesting which would be meaningless to the untrained visitor.
If the ranger naturalist likes people he will succeed very well providing he has the other necessary requirements.
Industry is absolutely necessary. The ranger naturalist must be willing to work any length of time, as the summer season is always so rushed that it is practically impossible to arrange for definite hours of service. Public contacts represent really hard work if the ranger naturalist endeavors to throw himself into the work to the best of his abilities.
Recruiting the Ranger Naturalist: General Discussion
It was agreed that the School of Field Natural History should be a fruitful source of recruiting ranger naturalists providing the men have chosen to take the work offered because of their love for the subject and not merely because they are preparing for a ranger naturalist job.
Mr. Yeager outlined several methods of selecting ranger naturalists:
(1) Selection of men from applications received.
(2) Selection of men who apply personally during the season.
(3) Sending of form letters to universities stating qualifications and asking for recommendations.
(4) Selection of candidates from application list on file at Educational Headquarters.
(5) Selection of specially qualified applicants for ranger positions, from chief rangers' application files.
(6) Selection from among students of the School of Field Natural History.
It was agreed that the last method may be best because the park naturalist will have the opportunity of learning each man's qualifications and also of giving special training in the subjects required. Also, the candidate will have had preliminary training in ranger naturalist activities such as guiding, lecturing, etc.
The candidates' age is an important consideration because the public will defer to an older man more readily than to an equally well informed young man. Our most effective ranger naturalists have usually been over thirty years of age.
The park naturalist should personally select his staff. He should not give too much weight to recommendations, because the men giving these recommendations are very seldom familiar with the requirements for the position of ranger naturalist and the conditions under which ranger naturalists must serve.
A fruitful means of selecting ranger naturalists is by the park naturalist personally going to universities to interview prospective candidates.
The salary scale for ranger naturalists should certainly be raised because at the present time it is quite frequently impossible to secure the best qualified men on account of the small pay, and quite frequently when well trained men do join the staff they are making a personal sacrifice because of their love for the work.
The ranger naturalist application blanks which are at present filled out by all applicants have proved to be a splendid means of weeding out incompetents. Many men who formerly applied insistently realize for themselves upon setting down their records that they are not well qualified. With applications on file it is easy to select the men of outstanding scientific qualifications. This is merely an indication of their possible qualifications, however, and should be followed up by personal interviews or by detailed confidential letters to men under whom applicants have worked, with questionnaires to be returned analyzing personal qualifications.
Comments by Mr. E. I. Kotok,
Director of the California Forest Experiment Station
For the fullest development of the individual, a man must be given opportunity to carry out personal projects or experiments. The man may then keep up intense interest in his work. The actual project may not of itself be of great importance, but assumes importance be cause it stimulates the man to mental activity.
Mr. Kotok stressed the fact that in work with the public, ranger naturalists should accentuate broad relationships in Nature rather than individual facts. He pointed out that it is much more important to tell the story of botany than to name the different species of flowers. Visitors should be interested in the way in which plants are associated with each other. A picture should be painted of the forest as a complex community, each member of which is dependent upon all others. The ranger naturalist should also point out the effects of various kinds of natural and man-caused destruction, such as fire, grazing, insect attacks, and attacks by fungous disease.
Fire may be the most important factor in the growth and appearance of the forest as it. causes the most serious change when it occurs. In years past, fires were mots disastrous because no efforts were made to suppress them.
The naturalist must know the story of plant succession in order to give the full value of this interesting story to the public. He can build up a story by reference to the fire scars on trees, to the general appearance of the forest, to the lack of reproduction, to the presence of brush fields, etc. The naturalist can perform a great service to conservation by showing people how important it is that fire be kept out of forests.
In the establishment of research reserves it is important that the purpose for each reserve be determined before the area is set aside. Each area must be specially suited for some certain type of scientific investigation.
Mr. Kotok accentuated the importance of each park having a cover type map and a fauna type map.
Miscellaneous Discussion
Considerable time was devoted to the discussion of training for the position of park naturalist, both because many of the park naturalists assembled were interested in registering for academic work toward an advanced degree and also because of the necessity for selecting park naturalists to fill new appointments. The following are memoranda of a few points brought out during the discussion:
In his university preparation the prospective park naturalist can round out his training and experience to best advantage by attending several different universities during his college career. This applies especially to graduate work. It was agreed that the park naturalist should occasionally be given the opportunity to leave the park for study or training, especially during the winter, so that he may be of greater value to his individual park.
It was agreed that it would be extremely advisable if each park naturalist could receive at least one month's training during the winter at Educational Headquarters in Berkeley, working under experts in museum preparation and in the various branches of natural history especially applicable to certain individual parks.
In his program of current administration the park naturalist must decide what work is most important. He should then endeavor to accomplish that first rather than doing a little work on many projects and net bringing any of them to completion.
After a detailed discussion of the Yosemite School of Field Natural History, the park naturalists recommended that an effort be made to turn out well qualified ranger naturalists rather than nature study teachers who are not interested in or who are not competent to become members of the Park Service staff. It was the opinion of the ranger naturalists that attendance at the school should be limited to men and that rigid selection should exclude all those who could obviously not qualify later as ranger naturalists.
Dr. Ruhle brought up the question as to the advisability of using the term "ranger naturalist." No suggestion was forthcoming, however, as to a more suitable designation for members of the park educational staff.
There was considerable discussion as to the advisability of distinguishing ranger naturalists from rangers by uniform. Messrs. Yeager and Ruhle voted for such distinction, and Messrs. Hall, Brockman and Been voted against it.
It was suggested that since this conference had been devoted to the statement of principles of the various educational activities in the national parks, it would be profitable to consider individual problems in detail at the next conference. It was unanimously agreed that this conference has been of greatest value to the park naturalists and that similar conferences should by all means be hold annually.
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