My Summer View: Big Cypress National Preserve

Most Beautiful Spot In: Big Cypress National Preserve

A Long Muddy Morning

I recently experienced my first trip into the backcountry of Big Cypress, and it didn't go quite as planned.

If you look in the Bottom right you can see
where things went wrong

We left the ranger station Friday morning after after gathering the supplies we had packed the day before, headed for the oasis visitor center. There we loaded up the swamp buggy assigned to my supervisor Ranger Drew Hughes. From there we headed out into the backcountry, the interior of the park made up of rough trails, swampland and cypress groves accesible only by off-road vehicles. We had planned to travel about 40 miles on the day. At mile 3 our battery died.

Thankfully we had anticipated that problem, it had happened before, and had brought a jump kit. We jumped the battery and got going again through the forest. At the six mile mark we stopped to take a picture. When we tried to get going again we had another battery issue, this time though the jump didn't take and we couldn't get the engine started. Also, while checking on the battery we discovered a much more serious problem, one of our back tires had come off the rim.

That meant that even if we could get the engine going again (which we eventually did) we couldn't ride. Stuck in this unfortunate position we had to call for someone to come and get us. Because we were a good distance out, and Ranger Darrell Phillips was driving in his patrol truck rather than an ORV, we had to hop off and hike a few miles to make the pickup easier, so thats what we did. We walked through beautiful backcountry, occasionally in knee high water, carrying most of the gear we had brought with us. Eventually we heard the sirens from Ranger Phillips' vehicle that signaled our ride. One careful drive back to headquarters, and a pair of waterlogged boots later and I had come away with a new appreciation for what the rangers here at Big Cypress do on a regular basis, and the resources they are protecting.

ProWeek

The following is a day by day account of my activities last week. In case anyone may want to know what the day-to-day schedule for a ProRanger can look like:

Monday and Tuesday (6/27-6/28)

Tours given to program manager Tony Luongo on his visit and fellow ProRanger Kathryn Pearl Yody. I drove around the park showing them the sights and met several park officials.

Wednesday (6/29)


9-10: Study RM-9 and other material in ranger station
11-1: Traveled to Bear Island and Midway Units of the park to collect camping fees with Supervisor Hughes, brought fees to Oasis visitor center
1-3: Repaired and test-drove Swamp buggy before backcountry trip on Friday
3-6: Patrol, returned to ranger station


Thursday (6/30)


8-5: Observed meeting with Park supervisors discussing future layout of park trails along with other policies. All Chiefs were present, as was the Superintendent of Big Cypress


Friday (7/1)


9-10: Gathered Supplies and drove to Oasis Visitor Center
10-12: Took Swamp Buggy into the backcountry of Big Cypress
12-3: Swamp Buggy Breaks down, assistance is called for, help is hiked to, we are driven out (blog coming)
3-6: Returned to headquarters, put in work order for buggy, dried boots, studied


Saturday (7/2)


11-3: Organized equipment shed
3-8: Reorganized Park Gym


Sunday:


11-12:30: Travelled to the Shark Valley district of Everglades National Park
12:30-4: Patrolled tram road and parking lot, assisted visitor who was suffering from exhaustion on the trail
4-5: Studied at Shark Valley Ranger Station
5-6: Patrolled Loop Road area of park
6-8: Return to Big Cypress, office work


In addition, there is about half an hour to an hour of PT every day as well as familiarizing oneself with the regulations and guidelines that we will see in the academy and on the job. As you can see being a ProRanger, let alone a commissioned LE Park ranger, is a varied and busy job.

ReloGatorin'

Slightly misspelled name, but it still counts

We're talkin' gators at Big Cypress.

Last Thursday I participated in UTV training outside of BICY headquarters. I learned how to drive and handle Utility Task Vehicles, an important tool used by the staff to patrol and maintain the backcountry. In addition to a (thrilling) online course beforehand, I had about 4 hours of practical training and am now officially certified to drive in our upcoming backcountry trip.

On the same day, I was called to assist my supervisor, Ranger Drew Hughes, in relocating an alligator that had become troublesome near one of the campgrounds. With the assistance of the resource management division the gator was drawn out of the water and had a snare fastened around its neck. After the gator wore itself out a towel was thrown over its head to calm it down, then the resource management biologist Annette Johnson hopped on the gator’s back to hold its jaws closed. Using ropes and duct tape we then restrained its mouth, tail, arms, and legs in descending order of danger. Rendered fully immobile, it was placed onto a board and into an RM truck.

Well-contained alligator

After we reached the designated release location, a ranger substation called Go-lightlys, the gator board was taken out of the truck and placed next to the water. The resource management specialist again got on the gator’s back and the restraints were cut in the reverse order they were placed on, at which point we all quickly, but gracefully, hopped back. In order to encourage the gator to get back into the water paintballs were fired at its tail, for marking purposes as well. This was ineffective, as the gator appeared to barely feel them, so we resorted to a good old fashioned stick-poking, which worked wonders. The alligator was released happily back into the water, hopefully staying away from campsites in the future. This was obviously an incredible experience to be a part of and it showed me one of the wide range of activities LE rangers can be called on to do, in addition to showcasing great teamwork between park divisions.

Backcountry Check Station

I closed out the week by going solo and collecting data from the backcountry entry points, to be used in trail decisions in the future.

Keep an eye out for Program Manager Tony Luongo’s blog on his visit here to Big Cypress this past weekend, it should be a good one.

A Different Type of Protection

Hi, John Hesdon, Big Cypress, checking in.

Big Cypress provides a different experience for a prospective LE Park Ranger.  Along with Big Thicket National Preserve in Texas, it is one of only two National Preserves in the Park System outside of Alaska, and as such it offers unique challenges. Hunting and fishing are both allowed in the preserve (with the proper permits and in the proper season) as are off-road vehicle and air boat use.

This means that visitor contacts are not always cut and dry, and a lot of emphasis is put onto the ranger to seek out and prevent crimes where it may appear there are none. For example, in most parks hunting is prohibited, and if the Ranger were to see someone hunting it would be an easy, instant, citation. At Big Cypress, the ranger would have to approach the visitor, check their hunting permit and then, at the Ranger's discretion, search for other signs of wrongdoing if a citation were to be issued. Poaching and commercial hunting are both common problems at Big Cypress so evidence of exceeding bag limits would be something to look out for.

This requires the Rangers of Big Cypress to be proactive to protect their resource, as there is often not an easy violation to be found. I was party to a stop in which Ranger Jared Barber contacted visitors for fishing and in addition to finding out that they did not have licenses Ranger Barber was able to find a bag of marijuana in the front console of the visitor'
s car utilizing investigative techniques. Through observing this, and many other contacts like it, I am learning how to approach contacts with an open, investigatory, mind and am finding out first hand how varied a career in Park Service Law Enforcement can be.

Big Cypress: Intro

Hello again!
My name is John Hesdon and this summer I have been assigned to Big Cypress National Preserve in south Florida.
I am writing this at the end of my second week here at the preserve and it has been interesting to say the least.
I arrived on a Saturday night and was patrolling with Ranger Jarred Barber Sunday morning. Over the next two weeks I would be shown around all of Big Cypresses many Visitor Centers, camp grounds, off road vehicle trails, backcountry trails, fire stations, highways, waterways and airstrips. There has been a lot to learn and take in, and it has been a blast the whole time. This park is just a bit bigger than Independence was last year. I have been learning from Ranger Barber, as well as Rangers Mike and Sasha Herrin, what makes Big Cypress such a unique place to work. I have visited several of the private residences located in the Preserve and have spent a day in defensive tactics training with BICY’s Law Enforcement Officers. I have also spent some time in the off-road vehicle department learning where the Parks many different permits come from. In my free time I have been studying RM-9 and CFR and exercising in an effort to get ready for the seasonal academy in the fall. I have also been exploring the area. Big Cypress is located in between Naples and Miami and is just North of Everglades national Park, so there is a lot to do when I’m not hiking or driving the park.
Now officially paired with my supervisor, Ranger Drew Hughes, I am soon going to be exploring the backcountry more thoroughly on foot and in swamp buggies. I will also be getting some time on boat patrol. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the summer holds.
Stay tuned for more!

Large Amounts of Goat Bones

Last week I finished up my second week with the Cultural Resource Management division, as well as my 40-hour conservation project. For my project I assisted the CRM staff in taking inventory of the park's many resources.

The first week was largely spent getting familiarized with the different branches of the division. I learned about the parks library and photo collection, one of the few in the NPS, curated by one of only a few head librarians working in the agency. I got to visit the park's archaeology lab and see where relics are cleaned, sorted, reconstructed, labeled, and stored. The museum branch allowed me to tag along as they presented a meticulously reconstructed navigation tool to the private investor that helped fund it. The amount of detail and time taken to restore this object was incredible and plain to see and it was very cool to get to see the final product, which will hopefully be displayed in the near future.

The actual inventory-taking brought me all over the park and allowed me to interact with dozens of different types of artifacts that the park possessed. I traveled around with curator as we counted and cataloged items in the Bishop White House, Ben Franklin's Print Shop, the Declaration House, Old City Tavern, and more. I also got to clean and sort artifacts in the archaeology lab, handle the park's extensive records collection, and help fellow intern Joanna in her cataloging of the items in second bank. In addition, I got to see the park's collection storage areas, containing everything from vases to ship masts to busts of Julius Caesar. The collection also contains, as I ascertained firsthand, hundreds and hundreds of goat bones, along with clam shells and other animal bones, which are kept (in case you are wondering) in order to facilitate future research into the eating habits and food locations of people in the 18th and 19th centuries. I ran into small facts, and strange items, like these all over in my time with CRM. It was impressive to see the sheer amount of items the park possessed and know that I still only saw a fraction, everyone in the division was very knowledgeable and able to answer any of my questions and helped to make my time very enlightening and fun.

Last week at Independence!

Filters and Fountains

The foundations of the President's house, as seen from below
during a filter change

Changing a water pump

Last week was my second with the maintenance division here at Independence. The first week was spent with the grounds, custodial, and motor vehicles as they were preparing for the fourth of July festivities. I weeded the garden outside of the liberty bell, set up barricades, visited the maintenance and garage facilities, among many other things. This week I was stationed with the Buildings and Utilities Branch. B&U is responsible for the upkeep of the buildings in the park as well as the various heating, cooling, and electrical systems. They also do woodwork, masonry, and painting when the need arises. They are, as you can imagine, a busy group of guys.

Each member of the Utilities staff is very skilled in many different areas, and they are all capable of handling nearly every job that comes up at the park. For example, when shadowing the Park's Electrician, Jeff, I helped to: clean a fountain, dig holes for electrical covers, replace the head on a street lamp outside of Franklin Court, clean a different fountain, and hook up and place a water pump, all in a day and a half. The needs of the park are varied, common, and urban, and maintenance workers have to be equipped to handle all of them, single-handed if need be.

One of the most important needs of the park is the air filter systems. Most of the historical buildings have their own climate control systems for the sake of preservation. The air filters for the systems have to be replaced fairly regularly and as such this is a common job for utilities. I went along with utility member William to replace one such set of filters in the basement of the Independence Hall block.

Part of the maze under Independence Hall

All of the buildings on the block use one space to house most of their utilities, which means air, water, electricity, etc. for five buildings are packed into a relatively small space. The result is an elaborate maze of pipes, ducts, and wires that is impressive to say the least. It was very cool (if very cramped) to get to walk around down there, like being in a thoroughly planned out cave. I also got to see an example of how multi-talented the people in Maintenance are, as a routine filter change turned into a repair of an air pump and greasing of a motor, which were all handled by William.

The people in maintenance were very hardworking and incredibly talented, and I gained a lot of appreciation for what they do in my two weeks there.

My Week with Interpretation - Independence NHP

This week I have been working with the interpretation division at Independence. It has been an interesting experience in one of the divisions I knew the least about going in.  I shadowed both a ranger, David Albert, and a guide, Jane Storsteen, earlier in the week. Interp. Rangers handle the tours of the various buildings while the Guides deal with more individual interactions with the visitors. I was surprised by how much and how often they moved throughout the day. Both guides and Rangers changed stations very often, usually only spending about 30-45 minutes at each location. This led me to every significant building in the park as I attended tours and helped with guiding visitors through the exhibits. 

I also got to see the printing press demonstration that is done every day in the print shop in Franklin court. The rangers use historically accurate equipment and presses to print out reproductions of different documents, including the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. After the plates are inked and the paper (made of the same cotton-based material as our money) is pressed, the document is hung from the ceiling to dry. At Ben Franklin's print shop the same type of presses were used to press a document every 20 seconds, something that would have been a sight to see if my visit was any indication (the average time for the rangers, in no rush obviously, was about 4 minutes). The press is a good way to show a historical object being used as it would have been and it makes for a fun exhibit.

Another event I was lucky enough to attend was a ceremonial reading of the Declaration of Independence on the 239th anniversary of its first presentation to the public on July 8th, 1976.

The reading, which happens every year, was attended by a large crowd and declarations were handed out so the audience could follow along. Following a brief introduction speech, the declaration was read in its entirety, complete with screams from both sides of the revolution delivered by park employees in costume and the occasional eager guest. At the end of the reading the presenter held his copy up to

enthusiastic applause and cheers. It was very cool to see the Declaration being read in front of a crowd and the park did a good job of establishing the atmosphere to really convey the weight of what was happening. It was a wonderful way to round out the 4th of July experience on the park.  

Working With Washington

Hello, my name is John Hesdon and I am the ProRanger stationed at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Independence is a unique park in that its resources, the things we are looking to protect, are almost entirely historical. Almost all of the work done on the park is in, around, or in sight of buildings of enormous value to the country and the society that shaped it. It is this unique work environment that enabled me to drink a Coke in the first bank of the United States, or see the view from the attic of revolutionary engineer and freedom fighter Thaddeus Kosciuszko (still working on the pronunciation, but I'm getting there). I am writing this very post from the oldest standing stock exchange building in the United States. History is intertwined with everything that is done here, directly or otherwise.

Recently I was lucky enough to be able to attend an inspection of the Liberty Bell with the division of Cultural Resource Management. There was a strange substance on the underside of the bell and an outside expert was called in to take samples and inspect. Being that close to the Liberty Bell was incredible. I can now say I have seen the underside, though given my giraffe-like frame I was not able to stand underneath like some of the others were.

While I was there something stood out to me almost as much as being underneath the Liberty Bell, it was how comfortable everyone was there. Though obviously and undoubtedly excited, the park employees performed their duties as if this were just a routine checkup rather than a potentially once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. They did so, of course, because to them it was just a routine checkup, just, as was stated several times, "part of the job". However, where in most places this familiarity might be the built on indifference, at the Liberty Bell it was happiness, everyone there was very glad that this was a part of their day-to-day

This feeling has been present throughout all of the divisions I've been to, that of doing a job that could be done in a million other spots but being lucky enough to do it in some of the most significant places in the country. From law enforcement rangers to maintenance workers to dispatch operators, nearly everyone I've talked to never fails to acknowledge and enjoy the place they do their job when asked about it. Where cynicism or boredom could be is instead respect and joy. Being able to work every day next to national icons, and being able to come in thirty years later and still get excited about them, is one of the things I believe that makes the National Park Service so special.

2015 ProRangers