The death of Jeff Christensen, the 31-year-old ranger who died in a fall while patrolling Rocky Mountain National Park’s backcountry, serves as a reminder of the dangers that wilderness and backcountry rangers often face.
Backcountry rangers serve the public by responding to emergencies, and they serve the environment by enforcing ecological rules. They do so while patrolling their vast wilderness beats alone. They earn about $15 an hour, or roughly $9,000 for a season if they’re lucky enough to get a six-month stint. Although their jobs are hazardous, they don’t enjoy the benefits granted permanent federal workers – they don’t even qualify for health insurance.
Yet many parks simply could not operate without their seasonal rangers. That’s particularly true in our region, where summertime visitation soars. In Rocky Mountain National Park, for example, Christensen was one of about 230 seasonal workers.
Despite the risks of their work, Christensen was the first ranger to die on patrol in Rocky Mountain National Park since it was founded in 1916. Nationwide, since 1938 at least 13 rangers have died in the line of duty, including a 36-year-old former Coloradan, Suzanne Roberts, who died in Haleakala National Park in Hawaii last year. At least three deaths, including Christensen’s, occurred when rangers were on solo backcountry patrols.
Some park officials said they might no longer allow solo patrols but instead require rangers to work in pairs. That practice, though, would effectively cut in half the size of area that rangers are able to patrol – and since most parks are understaffed already, it could mean that parts of the parks wouldn’t get patrolled at all.
Technology may offer a safety option. Satellite-linked “personal locator beacons” enable an injured or trapped person to signal for help, providing rescue teams with the beacon’s location to within 110 feet. These units are the size of a walkie-talkie, weigh 13 ounces (less than a pair of tennis shoes), activate in three quick motions and retail for about $700. Size and price are coming down.
That’s cheap compared to a prolonged search, such as the one for Christensen that involved 200 searchers, six helicopters and nine K-9 teams. Of course the National Park Service should make such efforts if any person is missing. But if the Park Service supplied beacons to rangers going on remote patrol, it could save rangers’ lives by enabling a rapid launch of pinpoint searches.
The gadget might not have helped Christensen, as officials now believe he likely died of a head injury from his fall. But the beacons could someday help his colleagues.
