A Park Ranger’s Life: Thirty-Two Years Protecting Our National Parks

A Park Ranger’s Life: Thirty-Two Years Protecting Our National Parks Saturday, February 6 … 1 – 3 p.m. What is a park ranger's life? * A wild bear who favors Kentucky Fried Chicken * A fugitive wanted in eight states * A dog that saves his owner's life * Wildland firefighters battling nature and fire * A ghost haunting a colonial mansion * Hikers who stay lost because they think searchers calling their names are wild animals * Being willing to risk your life to make our parks safe and help preserve them for the future Drawn from the career of National Park Ranger Bruce W. Bytnar, this collection of stories includes encounters with ghosts, criminals, bears, fire fighters, lost hikers, and many other characters that are part of day-to-day life as a national park ranger. He started his career in 1975 as a seasonal park ranger at Fort McHenry National Monument in Baltimore, Maryland. He later transferred to Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park in Virginia and then worked in two areas on the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina. Mr. Bytnar and his family moved to Rockbridge County in 1985 when he accepted the position as James River District Ranger on the Blue Ridge Parkway. As a park ranger Mr. Bytnar worked as a natural and cultural resource interpreter, federal law enforcement officer, emergency medical technician, fire fighter, public health inspector, search and rescue worker, supervisor, and manager. He also served on many details throughout the country including fighting Wildland fires across the west, dignitary protection assignments, responses to threats of terrorism following 9/11, hurricane relief, and major special events. About the Author: Bruce Bytnar is regarded as one of the finest examples of the competence and commitment for which the men and women of the ranger force are famous. Highly skilled in a variety of disciplines, his career took him from assignments as varied as firefighting across the western mountains to VIP protection details in eastern cities, a rescue mission in the rugged Appalachians, tracking criminals through forests and fields, and to the response in the nation’s capital after the attacks of September 11. Mr. Bytnar retired in January 2008. Call Bookworks at (540) 887-0007, or visit the shop at 101 W. Beverley Street in historic downtown St

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