Depending on who you ask, the US Forest Service ranger may be either a superhero or supervillain—a forester who is either the moral and knowledgeable face of conservation or the embodiment of an overbearing federal government. For more than a century, these perceptions have taken on mythical proportions that have been reinforced in literature, movies, and television. And although public perception likely hasn’t changed much, the job has. In reality, some of those rangers are District Rangers—midlevel managers who are the backbone of the agency. District rangers are responsible for a large geographic area and all Forest Service employees in it, and for enforcing agency rules and policies that try to balance the ecological needs of the land they manage with the demands of a diverse public. What has historically been the role of the district ranger, and who is the district ranger of today? Join historian Rachel Kline as she explores the history, myth, and reality of the Forest Service district ranger—and what all this may mean for the agency in the era of ecosystem services management and climate change.

Rachel Kline is a supervisory historian for the USDA Forest Service who holds a PhD from the University of New Hampshire. She is passionate about uncovering an inclusive past to inform an inclusive present by enlarging context, rethinking narratives, and increasing historical accessibility.

Day and Time: March 9, 1:00 p.m. (EST)
To register, visit https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_aDQ8Vo7nROOUAspLC01BCg.