Glacier Park ranger honored as best in the nation

Could you imagine a job where on any given day you might handle a wild cougar, rescue someone from the top of a mountain, fight a wildland fire, treat a heart attack victim, teach a winter survival class or hike with an 80-pound pack through some of the most spectacular scenery in the world?

Those are just some of the many duties performed by Glacier National Park Ranger Scott Emmerich. In recognition of a career of extraordinary accomplishments, Emmerich received the Harry Yount National Park Ranger Award for excellence in rangering during a Capitol Hill ceremony Tuesday evening.

The annual award is bestowed on a park ranger whose overall impact and record have promoted a high degree of awareness and appreciation for the ranger profession. The award, made possible by the National Park Foundation through a gift from Unilever, is named after the 19th-century outdoorsman considered the first park ranger.

“Much like the majestic scenery and abundant wildlife found in the park, Scott Emmerich is a constant in Glacier,” said National Park Service Deputy Director Mickey Fearn. “Every day for more than 20 years, Scott has performed tasks, big and small, seen and unseen, that protect the park’s resources and visitors.”

Glacier National Park Superintendent Chas Cartwright said of Emmerich: “He has high standards for everything he does and expects the same from every person he works with. He’s the epitome of the ranger profession. He’s a ‘ranger’s ranger’ who continues to set the bar high for the [National Park Service].

“Emmerich’s contributions to the North Fork, Glacier, the [National Park Service] and the country are exceptional. He’s a jack-of-all-trades; a wildlife biologist at heart, a counselor, mediator, interpreter, educator, friend and leader.  He is the perfect ranger to carry forward the Harry Yount tradition.”

Cartwright noted that this is the second time a ranger from Glacier National Park has been selected as the recipient of the Harry Yount Award. In 2008, Lake McDonald District Ranger Gary Moses became the first ranger at Glacier to receive the national award.

Emmerich has worked at Glacier since 1989. He currently serves as the North Fork district ranger overseeing nine employees, a quarter million acres of land, 170 miles of trail, four rustic campgrounds, an entrance station, four lakes, 28 miles of a wild and scenic river, 18 miles of international border, a 20-mile section of the Continental Divide, 39 miles of roadway, 13 backcountry campgrounds and several historic buildings and cabins.

Emmerich’s duties include visitor and resource protection, backcountry management, wildlife management, maintenance, safety, visitor education and fee collection. He works and lives in an off-grid, remote section of Glacier National Park. His wife Jan Knox also works for the Park Service as Glacier’s chief of concessions management.

As a wildlife manager, Emmerich has worked with researchers capturing, collaring and tracking cougars, wolves, grizzly bears, black bears, coyotes, elk and deer. He recalls his most memorable wildlife experience was holding, as gently as possible, an agitated 110-pound cougar by the tail while biologists administered a tranquilizer.

An accomplished rescue ranger and park medic, Emmerich has assisted people with medical emergencies and those who have gotten lost or injured while hiking, rock climbing, boating, swimming or skiing. To this day he has vivid memories of arriving first on scene of a remote, mountainous single-engine plane crash in Yosemite that killed two people and severely burned four others.

He constantly strives to improve the park’s emergency medical services, search-and-rescue capabilities and law enforcement operations through training, practice sessions and partnerships. He has established outstanding working relationships with the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Border Patrol, Flathead County, local game wardens and state biologists. Emmerich teaches winter survival courses, law enforcement tactics, first aid and CPR.

He is a frequent guest speaker at schools and civic meetings and believes strongly in community involvement with his roles in hunter education, youth soccer, the American Heart Association, the ALERT air ambulance program and the Columbia Falls school board.

When asked about his proudest career accomplishments, Emmerich touted the achievements of his staff and volunteers. “They are the most amazing and dedicated team a person could ever hope to assemble,” he said.

He said the opportunities he has had to work with and train young rangers just starting their careers are especially meaningful.

In accepting the award, Emmerich emphasized that “no one ranger is worthy of such an honor. It’s a team of people who help build and support every ranger who’s graced a National Park Service uniform — it starts with your family and encompasses teachers, peers, friends and leaders in your life.”

On behalf of the team of people who supported me and gave me every opportunity to succeed in my life and this profession, I thank you for the honor of accepting the Harry Yount Award 2010.”