There are basically two kinds of rangers: naturalists and would-be cops who couldn't make it into the regular police force for whatever reason. These two types could not be more opposed.
Since the late sixties, state park rangers have been armed (in my day this meant 38 special, mace, handcuffs); I don't know what they carry now. The naturalists hated this aspect of it; the would0-be cops loved it.
So it's hard to make blanket statements about the rangers, either at the state or national level.
Butyeah, there are lots of stories.
Joanna
----- Original Message ----- From: "Alan Rudy" <alan.rudy at gmail.com>
>
Wojtek, you really should spend some time hanging out with park rangers, in
the main they're way less authoritarian than the public they deal with is
completely unaware of how the non-human world - from ice to bears, boulders
to rain squalls - works. Find anyone who's worked at a park for any length
of time and they'll have more head-shaking stories than you can shake a
stick at.