Staff Spotlight, Mark Richter
Park Ranger, Mark Richter
Colt Creek State Park
Mark is a native Floridian who has enjoyed exploring many of Florida's state parks, and following this favored past time, he joined our team as a volunteer in 2015. Mark was quickly offered the position of park ranger and has since established himself as a go-to professional.
Mark is a talented carpenter, he's skilled with operating tractors and has participated in many activities including prescribed fires, outreach events, ranger-guided hikes, construction projects and interpretive programs. Mark is generous about sharing his knowledge, having provided guidance and training for staff and volunteers, participated in events at many of Florida's state parks, developed an informative program about gopher tortoises and worked with his son's Eagle Scout group to build new canoe and kayak racks for our park.
From inviting his family to attend park events to taking a leisurely hike after work, Mark says that he, "likes working in a place that he already enjoys spending time in."
Growing up locally, Mark is helping to protect and progress an environment that he's familiar with and fond of, and his contribution has helped to shape our park and make for a better visitor experience.
Though Mark has expressed warm sentiments about his career and our park, it's easy to look at the quality of his work and his friendly personality and realize that we're the lucky ones. We're thankful to have you, Mark!