How to Become a Park Ranger in West Virginia

West Virginia is a park-lover’s dream with 49 state-managed wilderness areas, trails, and parks, and six national parks, all of which attract over one million visitors each year.

Most of the State’s parks were created by the Civilian Conservation Corps following the Great Depression.

The goal of the organization at that time was to provide employment for thousands of out-of-work Americans who could contribute to ensuring the wilderness experience was possible for its visitors.

Today, park rangers follow in the footsteps of those pioneers by continuing the legacy of maintaining those same parks.

If you are interested in becoming a park ranger in West Virginia, keep reading to learn more!

Requirements to Become a Park Ranger in West Virginia

To become a park ranger, you must hold a bachelor’s degree in a related field, ranging from forestry and conservation to criminology, public administration, or business administration.

Since you will patrol while on the job, you must hold a valid driver’s license, and the state requires candidates not to have any felony convictions or serious criminal offenses, since this is considered a law enforcement role.

Those without a bachelor’s degree must have six months of work experience in a related field or two years of college plus relevant work experience.

If you meet the proper requirements, then you must apply on the website for a position with the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, State Parks and Forests.

Applicants are then screened for the previous requirements and notified of a panel interview, background check, medical exam, and psychological assessment.

Once this step is passed, park ranger training must be completed.

This occurs at the ranger’s assigned location and includes pistol and special conservation officer training.

Park Ranger Duties in West Virginia

Park rangers can work for either the federal or state park system within a specific state, such as West Virginia.

Although duties vary between positions, the typical responsibilities of a West Virginia park ranger include:

• Assess new growth and rehabilitated areas.
• Construct and maintain park facilities.
• Educating the public on conservation issues and how they can impact the park.
• Ensuring visitors have the skills and supplies to hire, camp, fish, or hunt on the grounds.
• First response to threats to the park.
• Hiring and training volunteers.
• Inspect environmental sites and issue reports.
• Patrol forest areas by air and land.
• Remain updated on safety and health regulations.

Rangers can move up the chain of command to become senior rangers and eventually team leaders.

Tasks for this role include:

• Consulting lawmakers about regulations that impact the park.
• Create safety programs.
• Develop policies for visitors.
• Manage threats to forest areas.
• Map the state parkland, access roads, wildlife, and resources.
• Not funding and staffing shortfalls.

State Parks in West Virginia

Of the 49 parks, trails, and wilderness areas, these are the most popular in the state:

Chief Logan State Park

Just one hour south of Charleston, Chief Logan State Park is home to tens of thousands of visitors each year to enjoy the historic steam locomotive display, Museum in the Park, swimming and camping areas, wildlife exhibitions, 18 miles of hiking trails, and musicals at Liz Spurlock Amphitheater.

The rangers assigned to this location must create a memorable interaction between the indigenous wildlife and the many visitors while managing the facilities, hikes, ranger-led activities, and first-responder emergencies.

New River Gorge National River

Despite the name, New River is one of the oldest in the world.

Over hundreds of thousands of years, the river has slowly carved its way through the Appalachian Mountains to create one of the most scenic destinations in the U.S. today.

As a result, over 1.1 million visitors line the park’s grounds each year.

Park rangers under the National Park Service managed the 70,000-acre property called the New River Gorge National River.

These 140 employees protect thousands of wildlife species, human history that stretches back over 10,000 years, and the countless visitors to the grounds.

Pipestem Resort State Park

Pipestem Resort State Park derives its name from the native shrub that grows in the Bluestone Gorge, which was historically used to build tobacco pipes.

Today, the park features hotels, restaurants, horse stables, and a golf course, nestled across its expansive rolling green hills.

In addition to these amenities, nature lovers visit the park for the miles of hiking trails and wildlife watching, while cultural enthusiasts visit for theatrical performances at the amphitheater.

Park rangers help manage all these activities, as well as surveying eagle nests and leading volunteers to help pull up the invasive Garlic Mustard plant.

Park Ranger Salary in West Virginia

The median annual park ranger salary in West Virginia is just under $40,000, with pay ranging from $33,300 to $44,800.

Find Park Ranger Career Guides by State

About Chelsea Wilson Chelsea Wilson is the Community Relations Manager for Washington University School of Law’s distance learning LLM degree program, which provides foreign trained attorneys with the opportunity to earn a Master of Laws degree from a top-tier American university from anywhere in the world.