Bruce W. Bytnar

Bruce W. Bytnar retired in January 2008 following a career spanning more than 32 years as a National Park Ranger. He started his career as a seasonal interpreter conducting living history programs at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine in 1975. Once a permanent employee, he worked as a commissioned law enforcement ranger, naturalist, wildland firefighter, resource manager, in search and rescue, as a supervisor, and a manager. His last position was as the Ridge District Ranger on the Blue Ridge Parkway responsible for the management of a 106 mile section of the most visited National Park Service area in the country.

His interest in supporting and promoting national parks remains a focus even in retirement. One example of these efforts is his 3 years of volunteer work as an environmental educator at Boxerwood Gardens Nature Center. The programs he conducts are oriented toward the State of Virginia's standards of learning. Mr. Bytnar's personal objective is to get students interested in the outdoors, science, and eventually national parks.

Beyond writing Mr. Bytnar has many other interests including reading, working as a men's lacrosse official, training dogs, hiking, gardening, and continuing to learn about our world.

His book, A Park Ranger's Life: Thirty Two Years Protecting Our National Parks, is a collection of true stories based on his experiences working in national parks. The reader will also have the opportunity to learn about very real threats to our parks and what citizens can do to assist those stewards who have the responsibility to protect our treasures found in national parks.

You can check out his blog at: www.aparkrangerslife.blogspot.com.

Currently Mr. Bytnar increased his community involvement by accepting the position of Managing Director at the Boxerwood Nature Center and Woodland Garden in Lexington, Virginia. He is applying his park ranger skills and experience to the operation of this arboretum and environmental education center. www.boxerwood.org

Mr. Bytnar is an Adjunct Faculty member of Virginia Commonwealth University and in that capacity speaks on National Parks and Life as a Park Ranger to Road Scholar/Elder Hostel programs.

"Pride, Integrity, Service" is the motto of the United States Park Rangers and Bruce Bytnar is regarded as one of the finest examples of the competence and commitment for which the men and women of the ranger force are famous.

Highly skilled in a variety of disciplines his career took him from assignments as varied as firefighting across the western mountains to VIP protection details in eastern cities to rescue mission in the rugged Appalachians to tracking criminals through forests and fields and finally to the response in the nation's capital after the attacks of September 11.

Bytnar captures the many facets of rangering with the humor and insight of a master storyteller and paints the picture of life inside "the best idea we ever had" our national parks.

- John Garrison, Former Chief Ranger, Blue Ridge Parkway