I have spent a lot of time in the Navajo, Hopi and Ute reservations and have become acquainted with police officers who work for those jurisdictions. One thing I noticed is how little they often have in the way of resources and manpower to effectively and safely do their job. Yesterday, I ran across a Navajo Law Enforcement Park Ranger. Among enforcement agencies, parks and game enforcement even has fewer people doing the job under adverse conditions and without any back up. Often their radio channels are not even monitored by concurrent jurisdictions, so when true need for help happens, long delays occur. I could just imagine this lone ranger working the sandstone canyons of the Monument Valley relying on his own skill at self-preservation. The Navajo nation has a traditional problem with its police officers not having help sometimes within even a hundred miles of where they are, and I imagine this ranger had even less help available. It is much the same with California Game Wardens and Park Rangers, and in writing our Chris Becker series we occasionally tried to show that fact in the storyline. Law enforcement is difficult when you have all the resources and personnel at hand that you need, but when you don’t, it’s like being in the wild west again. Given California’s elected officials poor financial stewardship, the park service struggles every year to survive at all. Law enforcement has been cut substantially as a result and puts visitors and park personnel at greater risk.
It’s a sad thing to watch, and I truly hope the California government recognizes the need to protect the resources it has been entrusted with and the people who use them for recreation. So far, I see little improvement.
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Greg
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