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Spring "Fund-Ranger"
Campaign is Open
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Dear ANPR family,
I hope you are all staying safe and doing well. Our national parks and their staff have now marked the two year anniversary of the Covid-19 pandemic. Adapting how we do our work while keeping co-workers, visitors, and ourselves safe, record-breaking visitation, and hiring struggles are just a few of the issues park rangers face.
As rangers and staff continue to give their best to carry out the National Park Service mission every day, ANPR aims to continue to provide support and advocate for them. We need your help! Today kicks off our Spring “Fund-Ranger” campaign. From April 15 - May 31, our goal is to raise $8,000 for the following two priorities:
- The Rick Smith Honorary International Fund. This fund provides scholarships to U.S. and Latin American rangers to attend the World Ranger Congress in Portugal in 2023. As global tensions are high, this event is a great way for rangers all over the world to gather, learn from, and support one another. This fund also allows ANPR to continue to provide financial assistance to families of Latin American rangers who have died from Covid-19 and other causes.
- ANPR’s everyday operating expenses. This is the most important way you can support ANPR. Money from the general operations fund can be put to use where it’s needed most. For example, ANPR’s website overhaul project, funding Ranger magazine, and assisting board members’ travel to Ranger Rendezvous come from general operations. If you are a life member, consider donating to this fund because life century increases add money to the restricted investment account, money that we cannot readily use.
A gift of ANY size will help ANPR tremendously in 2022. Go to anpr.org/donate, and stay tuned for updates on Facebook. Contributions are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by the law, and we will send you an acknowledgment letter for tax purposes.
Please consider helping to support the international ranger community, opportunities for ANPR members to attend a life-changing World Ranger Congress, and the future of ANPR.
Thank you for your support through the years!
/s/ Paul R. Anderson
President, Association of National Park Rangers
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Our Website is Under Construction
Please bear with us while our website is being rebuilt. This should be accomplished by June 1, but in the meantime there will be limited information and updates posted.
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Ranger Rendezvous Program Beginning to Take Shape
Ranger Rendezvous 45 - Into The Sun
ANPR’s Ranger Rendezvous 45 will be held at the Westward Look Resort in Tucson, Arizona. The inclusive dates are October 24-30, 2022. Here are a few details:
- October 24-26: Training Courses
- October 26: Board of Directors meeting
- October 27, 29 and 30: Rendezvous Program, including keynote speakers, panel sessions, breakout sessions, movie night, trivia night, receptions, awards and hospitality room
- October 28: Field trips to nearby parks or other attractions, personal interest time
- October 28 (evening) – 30 (noon): Exhibitors
The Westward Look Resort is one of the premier properties in Tucson. Learn more about it by going to this link and book room reservations using this link. Room rates are $106 (exclusive of tax) per night.
We have invited Congressman Raúl Grijalva, Chair of the House Natural Resources Committee. We have invited NPS Director Sams and Associate Directors Flynn, Medema and Caldwell. We will be inviting someone from NPS Human Resources to discuss hiring and USAJobs. Other important speakers are being invited for keynote presentations, panels and breakout sessions. Here are some of the presentations being planned:
- Cross-border conservation with Mexico
- Indigenous co-management of NPS park areas and programs
- Giving voice to underrepresented groups
- Protecting gorillas and rangers in the Congo
- Supervision and Leadership
- Climate change impacts on parks
- Travels with Freeman Tilden
- History of public lands in the US
- Innovative methods for protecting turtles in Nicaragua
- An authors panel
- And much more...
The traditional Rendezvous raffle and auction will operate during the main presentation days, and the hospitality room will be open each evening. The super raffle drawing will be held Saturday evening, the 29 th.
NPS parks close by include Saguaro NP (East and West units); Tumacacori NM; Organ Pipe Cactus NM; Coronado NM; Chiricahua NM; and Casa Grande NM. The Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum is a major attraction, and the Western Archeological and Conservation Center is in Tucson, along with the headquarters of the Western National Parks Association.
Contact bwade@anpr.org if you are interested in exhibiting, sponsoring RR activities, donating raffle/auction items; or with questions. Also let us know if you know of a presentation (presenter) we should consider or what topic(s) you might like to see on the program.
Updates on the ANPR website and registration information will be available by June 1, when the website reconstruction is completed.
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Attempt to Locate: If anyone has contact information for NPS Retiree Jan Dick, please have him contact Dan Brown at danlin49@charter.net, regarding plans for a reunion of the 39th session of the Introduction to National Park Operations at Albright Training Center.
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Request for rangers to be Interviewed: Thrillist (https://www.thrillist.com/) is putting together a "packing guide for national park trips, using personal recommendations from park rangers". Commerce Editor Caitlin Morton would like to speak with park rangers to prepare this guide. If you are interested in talking with her, contact her at caitlin.morton@voxmedia.com.
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A call to all Rangers to help protectors and protected areas in Ukraine:
As a result of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, the European Ranger Federation (ERF), a region of the International Ranger Federation (IRF), has been building up contacts and trying to find ways to support Ukraine, especially the Ukrainian Rangers and those still working in nature protection.
There are many ways that you can support the humanitarian aid going to Ukraine but ERF, along with the International Ranger Federation (IRF) and The Thin Green Line Foundation (TGLF), are specifically asking for your financial support to help those still trying to protect nature. Please share the information below within your national associations; with your fellow rangers and within your communities. Together we can make a difference to those suffering at this time.
The ERF is calling for donations to enable us to support rangers working on the front line in Ukraine’s protected areas. This work will be supported by logistical assistance from Rangers in neighboring European Countries to Ukraine, and other border regions, to ensure the aid reaches Ukrainian Rangers directly.
Following direct discussions with the Ministry of Environment and conservation NGOs in Ukraine, we have been advised that our aims can best be fulfilled by directly connecting with, and channelling, our support through the Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS). This organisation already has established networks and connections with protected areas in Ukraine. For more information on their work, please see the FZS web site here: https://fzs.org/.../emergency-support-for-protected.../
The FZS is organizing donations and buying much needed goods with a focus on humanitarian support for protected areas. FZS coordination on these aspects is more effective than multiple organisations collecting goods from different places. Where possible and useful, the ERF is trying to assist in organizing transport routes and delivery chains via Rangers in the area. The FSZ is also collecting donations with a view to supporting these protected areas in the med- to longer-term to enable rebuilding when the current conflict has ended. So, your donations to FSZ will help now, as well as in the longer term.
The Executive Committee of the International Ranger Federation, the European Ranger Federation and the Thin Green Line Foundation have endorsed this effort.
EUROPEAN RANGER FEDERATION
Professionals to Protect Nature
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Leadership and Teamwork Corner
By Bill Pierce
Unit 16 - A Park example of developing and implementing Core Values, long range priorities and a five year functional plan.
Part One - Identify the issues and develop an action plan to develop and implement Core Values, long range priorities and a five year functional plan to meet the needs of the Park.
The critical issue identified was the lack of a plan and process to deal with the lack of funding to fill critical positions in the Park (13 positions had been vacant for over a year due to lack of funding). The employees were frustrated with too much work, critical issues not being addressed and no plan to solve the issue.
FOCUS - The Park management team will develop and implement Core Values, long range priorities and a five year functional plan based on input from all employees so that the public, all employees and our partners understand and support the actions required to manage the Park and solve this issue.
OBJECTIVES -
- Improve and maintain employee morale through communications and involvement in the development and implementation of Core Values and a strategy that recognizes our employees as essential to our success.
- Utilize all the tools available to develop this plan to include the General Management Plan, other planning documents, enabling legislation, Regional input, the public, other planning documents and laws and especially our employees.
- Jointly develop and implement our Core Values and a strategy of long range priorities to direct our five year functional plan.
- Develop and implement a five year plan that will manage a decreasing budget without crisis situations such as unplanned closures, position lapses or unexpected reductions in supplies and materials while accomplishing our core mission functions.
- Validate our Mission, Vision, Core Values and priorities with employees, partners, neighbors and the general public.
- Verify standards of service for all core functions with the employees who are accomplishing them.
- Develop and implement a strategy for sharing resources with other Parks and with our partners to be more efficient and effective.
- Develop and implement a strategy to acquire additional funds from all sources.
- Develop and implement a functional and fiscal process that is accountable, transparent and understandable to all employees.
TASKS AND TACTICS TO ACCOMPLISH THE OBJECTIVES -
- All employees will be involved in developing the Core Values, long range priorities and a five year functional plan through work site meetings, e-mail, newsletters, questionnaires, and individual meetings.
- All employees will be involved in developing a list of non core functions and/or facilities that could be curtailed or reduced.
- All employees will be involved in developing efficiencies in operations, fund raising possibilities and cost saving measures that could be implemented. This could include increased volunteers, using “soft” money for core mission tasks, additional partnership opportunities, etc.
- The core values and long range priorities will be discussed and agreed to be every employee before moving forward.
- The management team will develop alternative five year functional plans based on the input from the meetings and the tools available (Objective B) and all employees will engage in selecting the best alternative plan to implement and be able to live with the selection. The plan will include which functions will be accomplished, which positions will be filled and what the standards of service are for all functions.
- An integrated annual work plan for the next fiscal year will be developed with agreement at each work site on the goals, tasks, and standards of service for each function.
- The management team will measure success of implementation of the core values, long range priorities and five year functional plan through feedback from all employees and actual accomplishment of tasks to the standards of service established.
- Based on the review of the accomplishments of the fiscal year plan and the feedback from all employees the next fiscal year work plan will be developed and agreed to by all employees and a cycle established that will continue for the 5 year functional plan.
A lot of material here and we will look at each part of this in more detail in the coming months. Next time we will discuss the development and implementation of Core Values. Your thoughts and comments please to flamingo12az@aim.com.
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