We suspect that our park field staff cringe each spring when Helena staffers call and offer their services. It is a tradition, however, for central office park employees to complete at least three days of "field work" to stay in touch with our park resources and our visitors. We work under the direction of our rangers, caretakers and frontline employees. We trade our familiar tools for hammers, post-hole diggers, and, yes, even toilet brushes. For those of us more often found behind computer terminals allocating budgets, preparing planning documents, organizing training, sorting through capital projects, or administering trail grants, these field days provide new perspectives. When we leave, we do so with a new appreciation of the work needed to keep a park system running. Next summer, if you see an administrative-looking soul in a too-crisp uniform shirt and a barely worn cap, please be kind. Remind him or her that the scoop-shaped part of the shovel goes in the ground.
Recent News
