Wildlife ranger work in human-wildlife conflict

In 2022, I took a seasonal job as the lead wildlife ranger for Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. My main task was to assist the park by resolving issues with human-wildlife conflict. 

Human-wildlife conflict occurs in many places where people and animals share space. While national parks usually have lots of habitat for wildlife, there is still some overlap with people and man-made things. 

One of our main tasks was keeping the black bears safe in the park. Black bears are particularly susceptible to becoming food-conditioned which is where they rely and seek out human sources of food. In the park, this mainly occurs when people leave food or trash unattended and a bear finds and eats it. Because bears need to store a large amount of body fat to survive the winter when natural food is less available, they will often take any opportunity for a free meal. However, this can become dangerous when bears come into close contact with people trying to get their food. We primarily worked proactively to keep human food and trash secured so that bears would only eat their natural food sources. We also deterred bears from being in close proximity to people through aversive conditioning. I appreciate the saying, "A fed bear is a dead bear. Stash that trash. Scare that bear.".

Roadways are another hazard to wildlife, particularly white-tailed deer. We would try to prevent deer-vehicle collisions by placing signing in deer hotspots. However, when deer were hit by cars, would be use that opportunity to learn more about deer health by collecting samples to test for chronic wasting disease.  

We also ran a restoration project for peregrine falcons. When falcon chicks were born into nests that were not in ideal places, those chicks were brought to the park where we would raise them until they were ready to fly for the first time. Being in a more natural environment gave them a better chance of survival. 

We also worked with many other species in the park to keep them and the public safe and happy.