South County Times

NEWPORT, R.I. (THURSDAY, MAY 25, 2023) – There’s a new ranger in town. The City of Newport is set to launch a new seasonal Park Ranger program this summer to provide visitors to the City’s network of public parks a helping hand and to be on the look out for potential hazards and quality of life issues. 

The program, which is the first municipal program of its kind in Rhode Island, stems from a series of community meetings related to park use and safety that began last year, culminating in a Park Safety Report drafted by the Tree & Open Space Commission and presented to the City Council.

While the rangers will be a visible presence across the City, they will not be law enforcement officers. Rather, as part of the Department of Public Services, they’ll serve as ambassadors for the City with the stated goal of promoting positive uses in parks and building relationships with visitors.

 They’ll also be keeping an eye out for potential problems such as unleashed dogs, noise violations, and illegal dumping, and will act as a conduit between the public and law enforcement should the need arise.

The initiative is modeled after other successful park ranger programs in communities such as Denver, CO and Salt Lake City, UT. Rangers will visit all parks, but will focus their efforts on the City’s most popular urban areas including Storer, King, Hunter, Miantonomi, and Vernon parks.

Once operational, rangers will monitor parks from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. throughout the summer season.
The City is currently accepting applications and a full job description is available online at www.CityofNewport.com/jobs.

As a community-facing position, bi-lingual candidates and those with a passion for the outdoors are encouraged to apply. 

Original source can be found here.