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A Ranger's Life
It's the rare, and perhaps lucky, person who makes a career choice by the age of 10. It is usually someone with a special talent or passion-what we might refer to as a "calling." All of these words could describe Yellowstone's Lake District Ranger John Lounsbury.
John grew up on a farm in southeastern Michigan, and his grandmother had him riding a horse before he could walk. His love of the outdoors was fostered at an early age. He recalls that when he was 9 or 10 years old, he had a sort of epiphany while on a camping trip with his family in Michigan. They passed by a ranger station in the woods and he remembers deciding at that point that he wanted to be a ranger.
John studied forestry at Michigan State University but the two degrees he earned were in Philosophy and Literature. This education has served him well in a profession that requires long, solitary hours in the backcountry. John has been a ranger in Yellowstone for the past 22 years.
His career began during college, when he worked summers for the U.S. Forest Service as a forestry aid. He first joined the National Park Service as a fire crew member, and later as a seasonal ranger in California's Sequoia National Park in the late 1960's. His first full-time ranger position was at Everglades National Park in Florida in 1970; then several more full-time ranger positions followed over the next decade at Great Smoky Mountains, Olympic, and Lassen Volcano national parks.
John came to Yellowstone in 1980 and made his home there for more than two decades. In the dream job he imagined as a boy of ten, he has spent much of his time as a ranger in Yellowstone's rugged backcountry, traveling on foot or on horseback. In addition to his regular patrol duties, he has been involved in leading trainings for recreational riders on minimum-impact use of horses in the backcountry.
John Lounsbury officially retired as a National Park Service ranger on November 1, 2002. He and his wife, Lois, have bought a piece of land in southwestern Montana where they are building a house and will keep horses. Their new property, which is close to the national forest, will have a woodworking shop. John looks forward to making furniture as a hobby, and his first big job will be to make all of the cabinets for their new home.
John admits feeling nostalgic as he looks back on his 22 years in Yellowstone, particularly about the Yellowstone Lake area he has watched over. "It has been such an honor to be a steward of this amazing chunk of land within Yellowstone."
But his future plans don't stray far from the place he loves. He would like to write a book on the history of Yellowstone's backcountry, and also plans to spend time in the park guiding horse trips.
Said Yellowstone Chief Ranger Rick Obernesser, "We will really miss John's incredible knowledge of Yellowstone's history and its backcountry."
Lisa Diekmann, executive director of the Yellowstone Park Foundation, expressed great respect for the hard-working ranger. "I used to think that being a ranger would be lots of fun. I still do, but watching John I now know it's tough. Not many people could handle it. John did, and always with a smile."
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My first and best memory of Yellowstone is Old Faithful.
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