Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN Legal & Legislation

Highest Honor Bestowed On Park Ranger

Friday, June 11, 2010

As reported in a June 8 WashingtonPost.com article, the National Park Service this week honored Ranger Scott Emmerich as the recipient of this year’s “Harry Yount Award,” the agency’s highest honor for park rangers. 

As the article noted, Emmerich has worked at Glacier National Park since 1989 and supervises a 250,000-acre region with 170 miles of trail, 39 miles of road, 28 miles of river, 18 miles of the U.S.-Canada border, four campgrounds, four lakes and the Continental Divide.  He started his career at Yosemite National Park.

While conducting an interview that served as a basis for the article, the interviewer asked this first, politically-charged question:  The National Park Service lifted gun restrictions in parks in February.  Has it changed your job and impacted visitors?

Emmerich responded, saying, “I guess the biggest thing I’m cautious of, is to not violate a person’s Second Amendment rights. It’s legal for them to carry a gun.  Emmerich continued, “There are some people who used to say they would never hike in Glacier National Park, but now they do because they’re packing.  They were worried about bears before, but now they can carry guns.  The gun issue is controversial, and it’s one that people thought might be blown out of proportion.  But it shouldn’t be.  It’s not that big a deal.  We’ll get used to it, we’ll adapt and it shouldn’t change our lives at all.  We’ll just be careful and respect peoples’ rights to carry a handgun or shotgun or rifle.”

Criminal activity in national parks is a very real danger, and one that rangers take seriously.  When asked, “What’s the biggest change you’ve seen in your 20+ years?”  Emmerich replied, “As a park ranger, I’m moving away from being more of a resource management type of ranger, and we’re trending more towards being police officers. That’s a hard adjustment for me.  I long for the days when I wasn’t required to wear a bulletproof vest and body armor at all times. . . .”

Lawful carrying in national parks and wildlife refuges went into effect earlier this year.  The new law restores the right of law-abiding gun owners to transport and carry firearms for lawful purposes in national parks and wildlife refuges, according to the laws of the states in which these public lands are located.  For more information, please click here, or visit www.NRAILA.org.  

TRENDING NOW
Colorado: Mandatory Storage Bill Passes General Assembly and Semi-Auto Ban Temporarily Removed from Calendar

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

Colorado: Mandatory Storage Bill Passes General Assembly and Semi-Auto Ban Temporarily Removed from Calendar

In a temporary reprieve for Colorado gun owners, the semi-auto ban HB24-1292 has been removed from the calendar. But we cannot let our guard down as gun control advocates can bring it up for a vote at ...

The U.S. Supreme Court Looks at Government “Blacklists”

News  

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

The U.S. Supreme Court Looks at Government “Blacklists”

Much of the attention this past week in the United States Supreme Court was the oral arguments in National Rifle Association of America v. Vullo, No. 22-842, a First Amendment case on whether government officials ...

25 years and one PLCAA Later, Chicago is Still Harassing Gunmakers

News  

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

25 years and one PLCAA Later, Chicago is Still Harassing Gunmakers

On March 19, the city of Chicago filed suit against handgun manufacturer Glock. Seeking to shift responsibility for the city’s woeful governance, Chicago’s lawsuit blames the popular firearm manufacturer for the third-party criminal misuse of ...

Washington: Governor Signs Anti-Gun Legislation

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Washington: Governor Signs Anti-Gun Legislation

Today, Governor Inslee signed five anti-gun bills into law that were recently passed by the Washington State Legislature. The bills include:

Colorado: Semi-Auto Ban Passes Committee and Sensitive Places Bill Hearing Rescheduled for Today!

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Colorado: Semi-Auto Ban Passes Committee and Sensitive Places Bill Hearing Rescheduled for Today!

Yesterday the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on House Bill 24-1292, the semi-auto ban, that lasted over 12 hours where hundreds of patriotic Coloradans overloaded the committee with opposition testimony. The hearing concluded with an ...

NRA Files Amicus Brief Asking Supreme Court to Hear Antonyuk v. James

News  

Second Amendment  

Monday, March 25, 2024

NRA Files Amicus Brief Asking Supreme Court to Hear Antonyuk v. James

In response to the NRA’s victory in Bruen, which secured every American’s right to carry arms, NY passed the “Concealed Carry Improvement Act,” severely restricting carry throughout the state. The 2nd Circuit upheld many of ...

Pennsylvania: Senate Committee Passes Full Inclusion Sunday Hunting

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Pennsylvania: Senate Committee Passes Full Inclusion Sunday Hunting

On Wednesday, the Senate Game & Fisheries Committee voted 7-4 to pass Senate Bill 67 to the Senate floor for a vote. 

California: DOJ Proposes Emergency Rule that Reauthorizes NRA Instructors

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

California: DOJ Proposes Emergency Rule that Reauthorizes NRA Instructors

On Monday, March 25th, the California Department of Justice published an emergency rulemaking package proposing to amend the Carry Concealed Weapons DOJ Certified Instructors regulations. Under the proposed rulemaking, NRA Certified Instructors would once again ...

Grassroots Spotlight: Michigan Grassroots

Take Action  

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Grassroots Spotlight: Michigan Grassroots

It's been a busy start to the year in the Wolverine State, as the Michigan NRA-ILA Grassroots Team has been out alerting and educating members and supporters on the critical changes in gun laws and working to stop ...

Kentucky: Credit Card Data Privacy Bill Passed Into Law

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

Kentucky: Credit Card Data Privacy Bill Passed Into Law

Today, Governor Andy Beshear let HB 357, the Merchant Category Code ban legislation pass into law without his signature. Your NRA would like to thank Representatives Derek Lewis (R, H-90), Michael Meredith (R, H-19), and Senator ...

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.