Baxter Park Enforcement Ranger

BAXTER PARK ENFORCEMENT RANGER

$58,462.22-$79,308.73 (Includes 16% non-standard pay; New hires start at Step 1; 3% raise coming soon in July 2024)

Position open until hired.

Are you an outdoor-oriented person looking for challenges in a wilderness setting?  Do you approach challenges head-on and thrive in a flexible environment? Can you communicate effectively with visitors, teammates, and supervisors? Do you enjoy hiking, hunting, fishing, mountain climbing, and similar activities? Are you interested in search and rescue, wildland firefighting, and technical rock/ice climbing? Baxter State Park is seeking people who are comfortable and experienced with these and other similar activities conducted in challenging situations and environments. 

The Baxter Park Enforcement Ranger is a certified, uniformed, law enforcement officer. This is a supervisory position, assigned to oversee multiple campgrounds and typically five seasonal campground rangers. As a law enforcement officer, the Ranger is responsible for the protection and monitoring of Baxter State Park’s forest and trees, fish and aquatic life, and all wildlife species. A typical work day in Baxter State Park may include the following:

• Supervise Baxter State Park campground rangers in maintenance projects and other duties, scheduling, and approving timesheets.

• Patrol the Park by 4WD truck, watercraft, snowmobile, foot, or occasionally helicopter.

• Respond, evaluate, and assess routine and emergency calls for service and provide appropriate responses. 

• Work with the Maine Forest Service, Maine Warden Service, and other local, county, state, and federal law enforcement personnel as necessary to protect Park resources and visitor safety, respond to search and rescue incidents, and respond to wildfire incidents.

• Issue written warnings and summonses for violations of Baxter State Park Rules and Regulations and Maine State Law in compliance with Baxter State Park policy.

• Support maintenance efforts within the Park and assigned coverage areas.

• Hike into backcountry areas and occasionally stay there for multiple days to staff a campground. 

• Hike, climb, and snowshoe the 200-plus miles of trails to ensure visitor compliance with Baxter Park Rules, compliance with fish and game regulations, and monitoring of wilderness areas.

Baxter State Park is an approximately 210,000 acres wilderness Park located north of Millinocket Maine. Baxter State Park is home to Maine’s most iconic symbol and tallest mountain, Katahdin. The Park is also home to 48 heritage brook trout waters and offers over 40,000 acres open to hunting and trapping. Baxter State Park has 10 campgrounds, 46 mountain summits, multiple backcountry campsites, and over 200 miles of trails. 

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS TO APPLY FOR BAXTER PARK ENFORCEMENT RANGER

• A high school diploma or GED.

• Twenty-one (21) years of age with three (3) years of a combination of education, training, and experience in park operations or directly related experience OR at least 20 years of age and have completed an Associate’s Degree or 60 credit hours of post-secondary education with one (1) year in park operations or directly related experience. 

• No extensive criminal or motor vehicle record.

• One (1) year of supervisory experience

You May Also Have:

• Knowledge of the principles of wilderness medicine.

• Knowledge of modern search and rescue techniques and practices.

• Ability to evaluate park operations and implement improvements.

• Already commissioned as a sworn law enforcement officer in the United States. Out-of-state applicants may contact the Maine Criminal Justice Academy to transfer your commission to Maine.

Preference will be given to any candidate who is a graduate of the Maine Criminal Justice Academy Basic Law Enforcement Training Program and currently holds an active, in good standing, Law Enforcement Commission (Blue Pin) or any candidate who has successfully completed the Maine Criminal Justice Academy Law Enforcement Pre-Service training (Green Pin).

Preference will also be given to any candidate with supervisory experience in a wilderness or remote environment.

To Apply:

Please submit the following documentation through this post –

• Cover letter

• Resume

• Proof of age (copy of birth certificate or driver’s license)

• Copy of your high school diploma or GED certificate

• Letter from the Maine Criminal Justice Academy showing your Pre-Employment Physical Fitness Test results (if the date of the test is within a year of your date of application)

• If you are only age 20, proof of your associate degree or completed 60 credit hours of post-secondary education.

FAILURE TO PROVIDE ANY OF THESE MATERIALS WILL RESULT IN FAILURE TO MEET THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.

APPLICATION PROCESS:

Current, full-time, Maine State Law Enforcement officers, who are Basic Law Enforcement Training Program (BLETP) certified, may be exempt from certain components of the application process.

All applicants meeting minimum qualifications will be required to attend: 

ORAL INTERVIEW: All applicants will be interviewed before a panel made up of Baxter Park Employees and Law Enforcement Officers. Interview subjects will be knowledgeable of Baxter State Park, decision-making, communication skills (oral and written), training and experience, and judgment. 

A second interview with the Chief Ranger and Park Director will be offered to successful applicants.

The final applicant will have a conditional offer of employment made, Baxter State Park will then conduct a background investigation concerning the applicant, including military service, education, motor vehicle record, criminal history record, financial record, work history, and references.  

An applicant will automatically be eliminated if they:

1. Have committed any crime classified in Maine law as a Class A, Class B, or Class C crime (any felony);

2. Have been found guilty of any crime classified in Maine law as a Class D crime (a Class D crime is a misdemeanor with a maximum term of imprisonment of 364 days). A person may make an application to the Maine Criminal Justice Academy (MCJA) Board of Trustees for a waiver of this provision. Persons with questions regarding this provision should contact the Director of Baxter State Park;

3. Have an extensive record of motor vehicle or fish and wildlife law violations;

4. Have convictions for Murder, Class A, B, C, or D crime, or convictions for any violation of the Maine Criminal Code, Chapters 15, 19, 25, or 45, or a conviction for any equivalent crime in another jurisdiction outside the State of Maine. A person may make an application to the Maine Criminal Justice Academy (MCJA) Board of Trustees for a waiver of this provision;

5. Have engaged in any conduct that is penalized in this state as Murder, Class A, B, C, or D crime, or any provision of the Maine Criminal Code, Chapters 15, 19, 25, or 45; or engaged in such conduct in another jurisdiction outside the State of Maine, unless that conduct is not punishable as a crime under the laws of that jurisdiction. A person may make an application to the Maine Criminal Justice Academy (MCJA) Board of Trustees for a waiver of this provision;

6. Have convictions for operating a motor vehicle under the influence of intoxicating liquor during the ten-year period prior to application to the Basic Law Enforcement Training Program, or have been adjudicated of committing the administrative offense of operating a vehicle under the age of 21 with a greater than a 0.00 blood alcohol content during the ten-year period prior to application to the Academy Basic Law Enforcement Training Program. After six years a person may make an application to the Maine Criminal Justice Academy (MCJA) Board of Trustees for a waiver of this provision;

7. Have been found guilty of conduct specified in subparagraphs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 in another state of jurisdiction;

8. Have ingested or been injected with or used a hallucinogenic drug;

9. Have illegally sold scheduled drugs or drugs that require a prescription;

10. Have engaged in illegal drug use beyond what is considered as experimentation;

11. Is currently abusing drugs or alcohol;

12. Falsified, misrepresents, or omits any information when interviewed, during the background investigation, polygraph examination, or on the pre-polygraph questionnaire.

Upon completion of the background investigation, viable candidates will be scheduled for a polygraph examination. The results of the background investigation and polygraph examination will then be reviewed to determine if the candidate is eligible to continue. This determination will be reached by weighing all the information received.

Maine Criminal Justice Academy

New Baxter Park Enforcement Rangers are required to attend and successfully complete the Basic Law Enforcement Training Program at the Maine Criminal Justice Academy. Upon graduation, new Rangers will be placed on an additional one (1) year of probation and will be required to attend and successfully complete other training.

The Maine Criminal Justice Academy will require that every candidate who is attending the Basic Law Enforcement Training Program must successfully pass the Physical Fitness Test. This shall occur within one month before the start of the class. 

Current, full-time, Maine State Law Enforcement officers, who are Basic Law Enforcement Training Program (BLETP) certified, may be exempt from certain components of the application process.

Candidates selected for an initial appointment may be exempted from attending the MCJA's basic course at the discretion of the Director of Baxter State Park if they:

• are certified, full-time law enforcement officers in Maine (or are able to obtain a waiver of basic law enforcement training from the Maine Criminal Justice Academy (MCJA) Board of Trustees).

Benefits:

No matter where you work across Maine state government, you find employees who embody our state motto—"Dirigo" or "I lead"—as they provide essential services to Mainers every day. We believe in supporting our workforce's health and well-being with a valuable total compensation package, including: 

·   Work-Life Balance – Rest is essential. Take time for yourself using 13 paid holidays, 12 days of sick leave, and 3 weeks of vacation leave annually. Vacation leave accrual increases with years of service, and overtime-exempt employees receive personal leave. 

·        Health Insurance Coverage– The State of Maine pays 85%-100% of employee-only premiums ($12,071.02-12,741.56 annual value), depending on salary. Use this link to find the premium costs for you and your family, including the percentage of dependent coverage paid by the State.  https://www.maine.gov/bhr/oeh/benefits/som-health-plan/premium-rates

·        Health Insurance Premium Credit – Participation decreases employee-only premiums by 5%. Visit the Office of Employee Health and Wellness for more information about program requirements. 

·        Dental Insurance– The State of Maine pays 100% of employee-only dental premiums ($350.40 annual value). 

·        Special Retirement Plan (25 years of service/55 years of age)– The State of Maine contributes at least 19.22% of pay to the Maine Public Employees Retirement System (MainePERS), on behalf of the employee. The employee contributes 1.15% of their pay.

·        Gym Membership Reimbursement– Improve overall health with regular exercise and receive up to $40 per month to offset this expense. 

·        Health and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts– Set aside money pre-tax to help pay for out-of-pocket health care expenses and/or daycare expenses. 

·        Public Service Student Loan Forgiveness– The State of Maine is a qualified employer for this federal program. For more information, visit the Federal Student Aid office. 

·        Living Resources Program – Navigate challenging work and life situations with our employee assistance program.

·        Parental leave is one of the most important benefits for any working parent. All employees who are welcoming a child—including fathers and adoptive parents—receive forty-two (42) consecutive days of fully paid parental leave. Additional, unpaid leave may also be available, under the Family and Medical Leave Act.  

·        Voluntary Deferred Compensation– Save additional pre-tax funds for retirement in a MaineSaves 457(b) account through payroll deductions. 

·        Learn about additional wellness benefits for State employees from the Office of Employee Health and Wellness.