Staff Spotlight, Kyle Blair
Park Ranger, Kyle Blair
Lake Louisa State Park
I enjoy working at Lake Louisa State Park because of the wide range of work that must be done. Every day brings a new challenge that the staff must resolve. Some days we clean bathrooms and change trash bags, but it’s an essential part of keeping the park going so that visitors can enjoy the park to the fullest extent possible. Seeing visitors enjoy the park is one of my favorite things about the job. Other days we might be off on a trail far away from any visitor or road, working on a resource management project that will help a rare plant or animal reintroduce itself to an area that it was once native to that habitat. No matter what the new day surprises us with, we must be prepared to meet it.
What I believe makes me a Ranger is the array of knowledge, skills and abilities needed for the job. I would hardly call myself an expert on any one area of focus in the park, instead I have a scattering of knowledge that enables me to handle a wide range of problems. Ranger duties include park protection, interpretation, emergency response, scientific field work, administrative work, a wide variety of maintenance and much, much more. An unexpected benefit to being a Ranger is the continual learning. When I don’t know how to do something there are others that do and, together, we tackle the project. Being a Florida State Park Ranger is both challenging and enjoyable.