Having just left federal service after more than 8 years, I can speak to the fact that the government is hemorrhaging their best employees left and right because of the pay freeze.
It isn’t the bad employees who leave. The best employees go. While I’m still working in a similar industry, most aren’t - and believe me, it significantly weakens national defense. Nobody cares if they think that some IRS stooge isn’t getting a pay raise. I think they might sit up and take notice if they realized trained engineers are leaving once-prominent federal research and defense agencies because of a perpetual pay freeze.
Over 150,000 search and rescues have been conducted in the National Parks since 1872.
233 National Park Employees have died while on duty:
http://www.nps.gov/jotr/parknews/ohlfs.htm And this is not just law enforcement; for the most part these folks are regular people.
Most of the people conducting these rescues are frontline NPS employees, making gs-9 to gs-11 pay: 50k to 60k per year, which considering the high cost of living in and around the major national parks is a pretty good bargain. (Try to purchase groceries or go to the nearest Walmart when you work at the Grand Canyon and you will see how quickly the cost of living can eat up a budget.)
From 1992 to 2007 there were 78,488 individuals involved in 65,439 search and rescue incidents. These incidents ended with 2659 fatalities, 24,288 ill or injured individuals, and 13,212 saves. On average there were 11.2 search and rescue incidents each day.
Without the presence of NPS personnel responding to search and rescue incidents, 1 in 5 (20%) of those requesting search and rescue assistance would be a fatality.
Search and Rescue Reports for just one park:
http://www.nps.gov/mora/planyourvisit/search-and-rescue-reports.htm
Park Ranger falls 3,700 feet during rescue:
National Park Ranger Deaths:
Park Ranger Margaret Anderson
United States Department of the Interior - National Park Service
EOW: Sunday, January 1, 2012
Cause: Gunfire
Park Ranger Julie Ann Weir
United States Department of the Interior - National Park Service
EOW: Thursday, February 24, 2011
Cause: Automobile accident
Park Ranger Christopher Nickel
United States Department of the Interior - National Park Service
EOW: Saturday, January 29, 2011
Cause: Duty related illness
Special Agent Daniel Paul Madrid
United States Department of the Interior - National Park Service - Office of Investigations
EOW: Saturday, September 24, 2005
Cause: Heart attack
Seasonal Park Ranger Jeffrey A. Christensen
United States Department of the Interior - National Park Service
EOW: Friday, July 29, 2005
Cause: Fall
Park Ranger Suzanne E. “Suzi” Roberts
United States Department of the Interior - National Park Service
EOW: Tuesday, September 14, 2004
Cause: Weather/Natural disaster
Park Ranger Thomas Patrick O’Hara
United States Department of the Interior - National Park Service
EOW: Thursday, December 19, 2002
Cause: Aircraft accident
Park Ranger Kristopher William Eggle
United States Department of the Interior - National Park Service
EOW: Friday, August 9, 2002
Cause: Gunfire
Park Ranger Steve Renard Makuakane-Jarrell
United States Department of the Interior - National Park Service
EOW: Sunday, December 12, 1999
Cause: Gunfire
Park Ranger Joseph David Kolodski
United States Department of the Interior - National Park Service
EOW: Sunday, June 21, 1998
Cause: Gunfire
Seasonal Park Ranger Michael A. Beaulieu
United States Department of the Interior - National Park Service
EOW: Monday, August 26, 1996
Cause: Automobile accident
Park Ranger James Randall “Randy” Morgenson
United States Department of the Interior - National Park Service
EOW: Tuesday, July 23, 1996
Cause: Drowned
Park Ranger Ryan Francis Weltman
United States Department of the Interior - National Park Service
EOW: Sunday, July 3, 1994
Cause: Drowned
Park Ranger Robert E. Mahn, Jr.
United States Department of the Interior - National Park Service
EOW: Monday, January 17, 1994
Cause: Automobile accident
Park Ranger Robert Lewis McGhee, Jr.
United States Department of the Interior - National Park Service
EOW: Saturday, May 26, 1990
Cause: Gunfire
Park Ranger Duane P. McClure
United States Department of the Interior - National Park Service
EOW: Thursday, May 22, 1980
Cause: Drowned
Park Ranger Ward W. Hall
United States Department of the Interior - National Park Service
EOW: Monday, July 16, 1979
Cause: Automobile accident
Park Ranger Gregory Scott Burdine
United States Department of the Interior - National Park Service
EOW: Saturday, November 26, 1977
Cause: Vehicle pursuit
Park Ranger James P. Fleetwood
United States Department of the Interior - National Park Service
EOW: Tuesday, July 5, 1977
Cause: Automobile accident
Park Ranger Thomas Kenneth “T.K.” Brown
United States Department of the Interior - National Park Service
EOW: Friday, August 31, 1973
Cause: Heart attack
Park Ranger Kenneth Carmel Patrick
United States Department of the Interior - National Park Service
EOW: Sunday, August 5, 1973
Cause: Gunfire
Park Ranger John C. Fonda
United States Department of the Interior - National Park Service
EOW: Wednesday, March 9, 1960
Cause: Drowned
District Ranger Gale H. Wilcox
United States Department of the Interior - National Park Service
EOW: Wednesday, March 9, 1960
Cause: Exposure
Assistant Chief Ranger Charles R. Scarborough
United States Department of the Interior - National Park Service
EOW: Monday, June 21, 1954
Cause: Weather/Natural disaster
Park Ranger Karl A. Jacobson
United States Department of the Interior - National Park Service
EOW: Friday, November 11, 1938
Cause: Gunfire
Park Ranger Fred Johnson
United States Department of the Interior - National Park Service
EOW: Wednesday, February 20, 1929
Cause: Drowned
Park Ranger Glen Sturdevant
United States Department of the Interior - National Park Service
EOW: Wednesday, February 20, 1929
Cause: Drowned
Park Ranger James Alexander Cary
United States Department of the Interior - National Park Service
EOW: Saturday, March 12, 1927
Cause: Gunfire
Bingo. We have a lump that keeps getting transferred to different sections. They can’t fire her. She has worked three different sections since I’ve been here and can’t seem to “learn” anything.