Recent Essays
The US Secretary of the Interior recently ordered more federal lands to be opened for hunting. Here's why hunting would harm national parks.
The Trump Administration removed an exhibit about slavery from a national park site. The public outrage should inspire all of us to hope.
In the last year, America’s public lands have been under attack from the Trump Administration, but now finally some good news.
Both American democracy and America's national parks have received catastrophic wounds this past year. Can they heal?
Travel, novel experiences, and nature have all been shown by science to have a beneficial impact on our mental health.
America’s public lands have the popularity President Trump wishes he had. Here are five ways they are more popular than him and his policies.
Shop the Ranger Desk
Buy a t-shirt; support national parks! The Ranger Desk is funded by our shop; your purchase helps us fight to protect parks and the rangers who dedicate their lives to caring for them.
A portion of our shop profits also goes to support the National Parks Conservation Association, a nonprofit that lobbies in Washington DC to protect America’s national parks.
Women's Rights National Historical Park was created in 1980 to honor the first Women's Rights Convention held in the United States.
Try our free Park of the Month newsletter!
Each month the Ranger Desk newsletter highlights a park or public land with an amazing story to tell. Stay up to date on all the latest essays from the Ranger Desk and learn more about parks from around the world.
No spam, just a new park treat for you each month. Sign up for our free newsletter below.
Popular Essays
Interested in US national parks? What about living a wild life? Get started with these popular essays.
Want more? Peruse an archive of All Essays.
Yes you read that correctly. And no it is not a dystopian science fiction plot. It is reality. Here’s what’s happening.
Here are five ways you can support national parks. America's national parks are under threat like never before, but there are ways to help.
Here are 10 national parks that celebrate Black history, because we refuse to forget this vital part of our heritage.
"What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" The line is not a call to action, but a call to inaction. A call to be free.
Learn what an interpretive theme is and what it isn't. A theme is not a topic. A theme is the glue that binds the topics together.
An interpretive park ranger conveys a park's story. Every park has a story, a reason that it was protected and staffed with park rangers.
Stephanie McCullough
As a former US national park ranger with a master’s degree in environmental education and interpretation, Stephanie (she/her) created the Ranger Desk to share her passion for national parks and the natural world.