OC Parks Ranger Training Academy

About the Program

Category: Personnel Management, Employment and Training (Best in Category)

Year: 2012

The OC Parks Ranger Academy is the only academy in the United States specific to the role of county and regional park rangers. Rather than sending recruits through a law-enforcement academy that provides only some of the needed skills, the OC Parks Ranger Academy trains current and prospective park rangers with the specialized skills necessary to be an exceptional park ranger. The Academy covers enforcement, conservation, preservation, and education about the natural world. OC Parks partnered with a local community college and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department to put together the Academy, which has successfully graduated two classes, with a third now in session. The challenging yet rewarding career of a park ranger is a great responsibility, and the goal of the Academy is to best prepare recruits for that responsibility. The job of a park ranger requires extremely specialized training. An academy such as the OC Parks Ranger Academy gives this kind of targeted training and helps to produce exceptional county and regional park rangers.