Indeed!.....That is why Park Rangers should be restricted to policing only.
When everything looks like a cop then the authority aspect of the uniform is rendered less effective.
1) Restrict Park Rangers to policing activities only.
2) All all other management duties of national parks should be outsourced to private companies through contracts made through a bidding process.
In art we have an expression, “ Everything is Nothing”. When everyone looks like a cop then no one does.
My property borders a National Park. Park employees are some of the nicest and friendliest people you will ever meet. I have yet to meet a Park Ranger who wasn’t a total horses ass. No I haven’t got a ticket or had trouble with a ranger so that is not my reason for this statement. In general just meeting one I have found them to be cop wannabes, dangerous in their behavior and personalities of Cartman, You will respect my authority peasant.
I have a relative who is a real life cop with 30 years experience. A few years back he was traveling through the local national park after a long shift and out of the blue this Ranger jumps out in the middle of the road in front of him and holds up his hand and commands him to HALT! My relative stood up on the brakes to keep from hitting this lunatic and skidded by the Ranger who decided that the laws of physics be damned you shall stop where I say you stop peasant and started to draw his gun, wrong move on a police officer.
My relative came out of his vehicle in full uniform and I quote “you stupid bast*rd just exactly what are you going to do with that when you clear leather”? He said another ranger appeared within seconds and my relative proceeded to curse them out and tell them if they are going to play cops to learn how to do a proper traffic stop before they get themselves killed! He got in his truck and drove off leaving them standing in the middle of the road blinking like frogs in a hail storm.
Park Rangers are law enforcement federal Agents.
Usually we see the brain-dead fluffy incompetents in the national parks.
The “real” Park Rangers in the deserts of Arizona and New Mexico are bad-azzes. The Border Patrol Agents respect those line Rangers and they cover each other when needed.
Like the Border Patrol, they are operating far from back-up and face violent drug runners and human smugglers.