ProRanger Program at Temple University: Tropical Storm Send Off

For the final time, Welcome back blog fans! As my final week came upon me, I did everything in my power to make it the absolute best it could be. The internship proved that every available moment and opportunity has educational value. The week began with some familiarity, but new faces. I rode with Ranger Williams for the first time and we primarily patrolled the beaches and conducted fish checks. Once again, there were not any fish to check. We ran into some “Sea Robins” but their capture is not of much concern to rangers as that resource is plentiful. Ranger Williams took me on the trek out to North beach and the very tip of Sandy Hook. The walk from the parking lot to the beach itself is 1 mile. While the area is patrolled regularly, it is not seen as often as some areas in the park. Perhaps I mentioned in my first blog that on busy days, rangers really must focus on the big picture. Answering calls for service, substantial violations, and public safety for example. This is part of the difficulty in patrolling North beach. If you are needed elsewhere in the park, you are easily one mile away from even getting to your vehicle to respond. On the walk out we stopped at an elevated bird watching stand to overlook the closed area of the beach and we noted some vandalism that had occurred to the stand. As we continued onward, we had plenty of time discuss the resource and much more. We discussed emergency medicine, orienting a career with the N.P.S., fitness, and the police academy. He had some great insight on the importance of fitness in this profession. We made contact with a few groups that were fishing and one individual who was fishing in the closed area. “Dredging” had been mentioned a lot during my time at Sandy Hook, but I was never sure of where or why. While in the closed area, Williams pointed out where the dredging occurs, and that the area is dredged so that shipping vessels can get in and out of New York city. Once we worked our way back, we made a few traffic stops. This was one of those stand out, educational moments even in my last week. Ranger Williams conducted his stops with some safety measures that I had not seen before and I really liked it. I plan to bring those ideas with me in my career to take into consideration. The following day was an exciting one with my supervisor, Ranger Lyle. Our much-anticipated ride on the boat came to fruition. Unfortunately, our excursion was a must as our neighbors at the United States Coast Guard base told Ranger Lyle that all of the boats needed to be removed from the water due to the impending Tropical Storm. Taking the boat for a maintenance run on the water before removing it ensures everything is functional. We attached the boat trailer to a patrol unit, ensured everything was in working order, and headed to the boat. Before leaving the dock, Ranger Lyle familiarized me with the boat, and we conducted a G.A.R. assessment. The G.A.R. (Green, Amber Red) is a risk assessment performed by Rangers prior to a potentially hazardous event which aims to determine and mitigate risks. After discussing the risks, we determined we were in the Green and off we went. It was my final week and I was seeing a whole different view of the park; it was awesome. Additionally, the view of the New York City skyline was equally awesome. We traveled up and down the ocean side and the bay side of the peninsula. Through the channels and under the Sea Bright/Highlands bridge leading into the park. Upon return, we power washed the boat and moved it to high ground for weathering the storm. Yes, “high ground” is arbitrary when the park is a peninsula.

Views of Sandy Hook from the boat.

The boat loaded onto the trailer.

Powerwashing the underside of the boat.

As scheduled, Tropical storm Isaias made land fall on Tuesday. Chief Heuser comically commented on me being there day, night, or even hurricane. The park had already been closed for the day at midnight. Sure enough, there were still plenty of people looking to visit. The only excitement of the day came when two vehicles drove past the barricades and the rangers were off to find them. Before the high winds, rain, and power loss I went through each of the patrol vehicles to document their mileage and to collect fuel receipts for Ranger Whithers. The storm proved what the ProRangers have been told, “Rangers do it all”. The Law Enforcement rangers were picking up and moving storm debris all day as they patrolled.

Fighting the wind as I gather vehicle information.

(Above)Raised dunes and rolled up mobility mats in preparation for the storm. (Below) This spot and a few others had sand and water coming across the roadway.

Once the storm passed it was time for more excitement. Wednesday started with a call from Resource about an “unidentified object”. I thought that could only be aliens or a bomb, and neither are good. However, given the year so far, neither would be surprising. I went with Supervisory Ranger Miller who is most familiar with E.O.D. operations and procedures. He determined that the “device”, a brass container that had washed up on the beach, was not an explosive and safe. I said it was time for some excitement, but admittedly, that call interrupted our mornings work of documenting the location of every arrest at Sandy Hook in the last twenty years. After wading through data, my last assignment for the day was going with Ranger Whithers to retrieve one of the parks new patrol vehicles from the emergency lighting installer. It`s a beaut. I was able to learn something from just radio traffic on that day too. There were motorized paragliders flying over a closed area in the park. This concerned the Resource division as they could disturb the birds. I was able to hear the call unravel in its entirety as the radio signal held out driving to and from the installer. Afterwards, I heard about it from the Ranger who handled the call too. Sandy Hook has cars, trucks, A.T.V.`s, and a boat. They don`t have a plane though, so making contact is impossible until they land. The Ranger ran into to a Sea Bright police officer at the park entrance and asked him to contact the paragliders as they appeared to be landing outside the park. I was shocked to hear that they did make contact and explained the reasoning behind the closure. Speaking to paragliders about why bothering birds is an issue is not the norm for municipal police officers. Plus, they have their own town and beach to worry about. That proved that going the extra mile is worth it and interagency cooperation is possible. At the end of the day, enforcement is the job. The day was over, but the night was young. That day I stayed for the night shift to experience a different aspect of the park. The night shift shares many of the same types of calls with day shift, but they tend to see more of the effects of alcohol. These rangers also must clear the beaches at closing, watch closely for impaired drivers, and secure buildings. Ranger Nash took me along for the evening. Ranger Nash had some great advice to share for bettering myself in my future career. He has a background in corrections which surely has some benefits in the transition into law enforcement. Throughout the night Ranger Nash initiated a number of stops for drivers showing signs of impairment. Two of the veteran Sandy Hook rangers are on nights as well and they are very well versed in detecting impaired drivers. The opportunity to see them work after hearing about them was a great experience. I was able to witness both of their D.U.I. arrests that night. Additionally, I was able to witness a C.D.S. search for the first time. During the search, several cars started to line of at the entrance, so I was sent to direct them. Some humor came when it was mostly other rangers coming back into the park.

(Above) Sitting with a vehicle, post inventory, awaiting a tow. (Below) Organizing arrest data.

In closing, my last day in the park came all too soon. It came with another first, a ride along with Ranger Buckingham. This was our first ride along but far from our first interaction. We returned to the location of my first foot patrol, Gunnison beach. It was only right to come and say goodbye. Throughout the day we made a few contacts on the beach. I was impressed by how Ranger Buckingham handled an alcohol contact where he was outnumbered by far. It showed the power of confidence and discretion. Later, I was able to witness another C.D.S. search. All the Rangers impressed me once again in how it was handled. Afterwards I was able to watch the evidence being processed and destroyed, one last time. To wrap up the day, I knocked off a Sandy Hook bucket list item. Climb to the top of the lighthouse. I have faint memories of climbing the Sandy Hook lighthouse as a child, but never the chance to stand outside at the top. Since my initial climb, some restoration work has been done. This served as a lovely reminder that protecting the park is worth it. As you can see in the attached photos, the view is beautiful. Far better than I imagined. Mission completed. Ranger Buckingham and I made our way down and returned to the Ranger station where I said my thank you`s and goodbyes. Despite a global pandemic my internship was carried out. I was a metaphorical sponge and absorbed all of the information I could. The Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area took me in as one of their own. I am forever grateful for the experience.