Ranger shortage a problem for DNR
Fri, Mar 14, 2008
By EMILY STRANGERThe Brunswick NewsAnything can happen deep inside the Georgia woodlands or on a river far from civilization. If it involves an injury or an accident, usually the first people called and the first to respond are rangers with the state Department of Natural Resources.Staff shortages, however, could mean that help could take longer to arrive."Where the pavement ends, we begin," said Cpl. Jesse Cook, a conservation ranger with the DNR. "We're another set of eyes and ears that help protect the citizens of this state."
Department of Natural Resources Cpl. Jesse Cook prepares to leave the DNR dock to search for right whales in the area. A shortage of DNR agents statewide may affect response times to emergencies. (Bobby Haven/The Brunswick News)
| Along the coast, rangers enforce boating laws and respond to accidents in marshes, streams and rivers.Last year, the coastal district office of the DNR, which covers nine counties, completed 77 search and rescue missions and assisted 105 persons.This year, staff issues have rangers concerned about how Johnny-on-the-spot they will be if boaters and swimmers call for help.Cook's unit of 28 rangers – two of whom are still in training – is five short.DNR statewide is operating 30 rangers short. Positions were cut in 2000 because of budget reductions, dropping the number of conservation rangers from 252 to 222.Capt. Stephen Adams, head of the DNR's Law Enforcement Division, said the hole in staffing could pose a problem. It could affect the department's response time to emergency calls.It could also put the lives of rangers in harm's way, he said."Our officers are spread far apart and there is no readily available back up," said Adams. "It's a real public safety issue because we patrol everywhere that the other law enforcement agencies don't."It's a dangerous enough job as it is. Sgt. John Harwell, a DNR ranger, said rangers have been shot at, assaulted and injured. They face angry poachers, apprehend drug dealers and save the lives of citizens."A common hunting lodge in the woods could turn out to be a meth lab or a moonshine still, and most of the time, rangers find themselves in remote locations where their radio signal won't work," he said. "If something goes wrong, they're by themselves." Rangers attached to the DNR's coastal region aren't spread that thin, but the situation is still dire."In some areas of the state, there is only one ranger to cover three counties," said Adams. "We have more rangers per county, but when you figure in that we have more water than any other region in the state, you find we're in the same situation."
|
|
|
