DCNR: 27 new rangers, park managers, will strengthen positive visitor services

Yahoo

25-05-2025

May 24—Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn this week joined staff and families to celebrate the 2025 graduating class of the department's ranger and park manager trainee academy.
"Our rangers and park managers are key to providing positive visitor experiences, in addition to their duties as sworn law enforcement officers," said Secretary Dunn. "We are proud of the Class of 2025. Their dedication and hard work during training have prepared them for long, successful careers in our state parks system, and I look forward to seeing their impact this summer and beyond."
DCNR rangers and managers play a vital role in protecting public lands, educating visitors, and ensuring safe and welcoming outdoor spaces for all.
To prepare for this work, ranger and manager trainees must complete a 19-week academy focused on visitor services, educational programming, equipment use, and law enforcement training, including enforcement of park rules and Pennsylvania law.
Ranger trainee graduates and assignments for 2025:
Matthew Carlson — Promised Land
Nicholas Cento — French Creek
Michael Corrado — Delaware Canal
Tyrus Current — Ridley Creek
Kira Estes — Point
Andrew Garman — Trough Creek
Kevin Gatta — French Creek
Nathan Knox — Northcentral State Park Region
Nathaniel Marcionette — Codorus
Michael Marinkovich — Chapman
Kelly Miller — Pine Grove Furnace
Sabrina Parisi — Canoe Creek
Scott Perry — Bald Eagle
Scott Savage — Ohiopyle
Ellen Secor — Memorial Lake
Stephen Stringer — M.K. Goddard
Nicholas Temel — Presque Isle
Joshua Tulanowski — Hickory Run
Jake Vincent — Little Buffalo
Alexis Wildt — Little Pine
Roger Wilson — Linn Run
Codi Young — World's End
Park Manager Trainee Graduates and Assignments for 2025:
Kara Fetter — Central Office, Harrisburg
Emma Menzel — Eastern State Park Region
Taylor Miller — Western State Park Region
Emily Reed — Southcentral State Park Region
Daniel Clark — Codorus
DCNR also employs rangers in Pennsylvania's state forests. Like other law enforcement officers, DCNR rangers provide educational and enforcement services to protect natural resources and ensure public safety.For more information about becoming a ranger trainee or for other Pennsylvania employment opportunities, visit employment.pa.gov.
Pennsylvania's 124 state parks and 2.2 million acres of forestland are open year-round with free entry — making them an affordable, accessible Great American Getaway for residents and visitors alike. Campsites, cabins, and yurts are still available for reservation ahead of Memorial Day weekend and the start of summer travel season.
State parks offer great opportunities for swimming, boating, camping, and other outdoor recreation opportunities. Pets are welcome in designated areas.
PA awards over $1.1M to projects that foster environmental stewardship among youth and adults
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) annnounced it has awarded $1,173,789 in Environmental Education Grants to 68 environmental education projects that will promote environmental stewardship across Pennsylvania.
"These projects help connect people to the ways we can protect the air we breathe and the water we drink, and many of them encourage learning at any age whether you're a kid or an adult," said DEP Acting Secretary Jessica Shirley. "Every grant we are awarding supports educational opportunities and will further improve people's connections to their environment."
The Environmental Education Grants program prioritizes proposals that will deliver meaningful environmental education programs to people who live, work, or attend school in areas of the Commonwealth often most threatened by climate change, and air and water pollution. This year 87% of the awarded projects will support projects that engage youth and/or adults within such areas.
The 2025 projects will deliver a wide range of environmental education programs that include providing youth with unique immersive field experiences, engaging community residents in practical climate resiliency projects, supporting school districts' efforts to develop new STEELS standards-based curriculum, and many more.
Luzerne County projects
—Luzerne Intermediate Unit 18 — $30,000 for "Engaging School Communities in Environmental Stewardship through the Visual Arts" to provide professional development to teachers (grades 5-8) on the PA Environmental Literacy and Sustainability and Arts and Humanities Academic Standards.
—Wyoming Valley West High School — $4,995 for "Vertical Harvesting Using Hydroponics in the Classroom." Science and home economic classes will be engaged in standards-based activities addressing water quality, soil and land and water conservation.
Pennsylvania's 600-mile Northcentral Regional ATV Trail reopens May 23 for 2025 Season
Riders hit the trail starting Friday, May 23, as the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) reopened the Northcentral Regional ATV Trail for the 2025 season.
The trail offers more than 600 miles of connected roads and trails across Clinton, Lycoming, Potter, and Tioga counties, and will remain open through Sunday, Sept. 28.
Although the riding areas will be marked, riders are expected to familiarize themselves with permitted routes to ensure they are operating in legal riding areas.
The trail has quickly become one of Pennsylvania's premier outdoor recreation destinations. A recent study found the trail system generated $13.1 million in economic impact for Potter and Tioga counties in 2023 — up from $10.4 million the previous year.
"The Northcentral Regional ATV Trail has provided new opportunities for the Pennsylvania riding community and has been a boost to local economies in the Pennsylvania Wilds," said State Forester Seth Cassell. "I encourage riders to follow all rules and regulations for a fun, safe summer. Thank you to our state and local partners for making this opportunity possible."
In 2025, DCNR is investing $1.3 million to expand ATV access and improve trail infrastructure across Pennsylvania.
The 600-mile trail includes more than 400 miles of township roads; 167 miles of state forest roads and trails; and 33 miles of PennDOT-administered roads, and was made possible through partnerships with local governments and private landowners — particularly townships that voluntarily opened roads to the trail system.