In the late 1800's, the first national parks were established. When it became obvious that
help was
needed to protect the parks from poaching and vandalism, the U.S. cavalry was
assigned to
patrol the parks. As mounted rangers, the mobile cavalry stopped the misuse of park
resources. This
evolution of the ranger continued into the 20th century in Maryland. In 1906, the
Maryland State Board
of Forestry was established, marking our current service's beginning. As a result of this, a
corps of
volunteer forest wardens was enlisted to deal with the problems of forest fires and impart
wise forest
management practices to the public. These volunteer forest wardens were the first
conservation rangers
in Maryland.
A fee will be charged. Call Francis Zumbrun at Greenridge State Forest 301-478-3124 for more information and fee charges.
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