out of the loop

The connection I have with the prairie is personal. It doesn't really matter that I do not often get to do "ranger" work, as even the scut work takes me outside, independently chugging around in the truck or walking from place to place. I love it.

Insert long ridiculous story here, and poof, my job duties are at least temporarily reduced to counting money in a back room all morning. (I already do a 2nd shift later in the afternoon inside Ranger Station...meet & greet & taking fees.) Though I and others have proposed many viable alternate solutions, it remains so for the time being, and has given me serious pause about working there.

It hit home when I came in extremely early last Sunday to clean at least a couple of the restrooms/picnic areas in anticipation of a special event that day. Many agencies, Park Svc, Forestry Svc, etc. cooperated to hold a "Fire Fest" during Fire Awareness Week with the aim of educating people about wild and prescribed fire---an excellent idea which will happily turn into an annual event. To say that I wanted the prairie to look its best was an understatement, as I had not been allowed to do my usual beautification for several weekends.

It was dark driving in, but when I left the one area, I was astonished to see the evidence of a small prescribed burn along the road. The dawn dawned on something I hadn't seen because I had been cooped up in a room, and for a moment, aka day or two, I no longer felt like a park employee. Silly, as there are other "office" people, and I DO an office job at my other park...but I suddenly felt out of the loop. The team had burned "my" park and I didn't even know. Well, pretty much the entire event was planned without most of us being in the info loop, but at least the Rangers all had specific assignments related to the prep. It was as if someone stole into my apartment and moved the furniture or painted my walls a different color.

Not to diminish the success of this event---Smokey Bear even came, for Pete's sake---but I didn't get to see him, nor any of it, having once again been trapped in said room, endlessly (okay, it just seemed endless) counting money. How to change this?.....should I hope for fewer people to visit our trails, thus possibly giving me a precious hour with broom, johnny mop, or covered in ashes? Shall I wish for blazing hot weather and mosquitoes? Maybe. I have already pestered my managers to their limits, and I cannot afford to do these tasks for free. (Actually, by state regulation, I am prohibited from doing it for free, and may only volunteer for tasks that do not fall under my job description. And there is nothing at the park that does NOT fall under my job description.) And, of course, I cannot afford to quit. But if 4 walls is all it becomes, I can get paid much more elsewhere for that.