| 1. What
kinds of things do you do in your job? Bob:
As a Park
Ranger (Manager),
Business
Management - I do everything that any
business does. We do administrative
reporting, budgets, accounting,
personnel, hiring business plans,
marketing, banking and more.
Resource
Management - We do all we can to monitor
and protect the natural resources under
our charge. Includes: Forest, Rivers,
Lakes, Ponds, and of course
"caves". We are responsible for
all of the life within our protection
areas. Wildlife (fauna), trees and plants
(flora), natural (rock formations and
caves) and cultural (manmade-historic)
features.
Recreation
Management - We do all of the people
things too. We provide campgrounds, youth
camps, picnic areas, pools, nature
centers and recreational trails. We
provide information and education
programs, naturalist programming, and of
course, we do search and rescue missions
when called upon. It is a busy job, with
much diversity.
2. How long
have you been working at your job?
Bob:
I started
working in the woods when I was a young
college student in 1978. While in school
I did research and was in charge of the
Forestry Department greenhouses. During
the summers, I worked for the United
States Forestry Service in the western
states of Nevada and Idaho, packing
horses in the backcountry, building
hiking and horse trails, restoring wild
rangelands, cowboying, surveying wild
country, marking timber and as many young
people did back then and still do today -
fight forest fires.
I came to
Indiana in 1984 and have worked for the
Indiana Department of Natural Resources
as a State Forest and State Park Manager.
I am currently the Manager of O'Bannon
Woods State Park and Wyandotte Cave.
3. What do
you like most about your job?
Bob:
My favorite
part of my job is working with volunteers
who offer their time and energy to
improving our Park and Forest Lands and
Resources. I volunteer too! It is the
most rewarding, working with others who
also believe in protecting and conserving
our precious natural resources is
fulfilling.
About caves:
I like caves, but am not totally
comfortable crawling in the little
spaces. My daughter (17 years old) loves
to disappear into the maze of tunnels and
crawls of Big Wyandotte and the wild
caves of the forest. I'm not that brave,
but she is. What I really like is the
bats!
4. When we
were on our tour of Wyandotte Caves, you
told us that caves breathe. Please
explain that to us.
Bob:
The
difference in outside and inside air
temperatures create air currents.
Wyandotte Cave has multiple entrances,
depending on air temperatures, each cave
entrance may have air flowing in or out
on any given day. On really cold days you
can sometimes locate caves by the steam
(warmer air) leaving the cave entrances.
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