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Public Access, Safety, and Law Enforcement

Rangers also must encourage the OSMP’s safe public use and enjoyment in balance with natural
resource protection, public safety, and a high-quality visitor experience to prevent damage to
resources and facilities. A sound law enforcement policy directed at the OSMP system’s specific
needs, a planned procedure for emergency responses, and standardized training requirements are
necessary to accomplish this.

Community Rangering
In 2016, the ranger work group began implementing community rangering (following the tenets of
“community policing” and hereafter called “community rangering”). Details on rangers’ roles and
responsibilities with respect to community rangering are provided in Chapter 4: Ranger/Naturalist
Community Relations.

Depending on the circumstances, rangers are expected to make emergency and non-emergency
repairs to facilities, including buildings, trails, and fences, and they will coordinate these activities
with the responsible primary work group. Due to the complexities of dealing with wildlife, that
topic is covered in Chapter 13: Wildlife Response.

Agricultural Management

Cattle are the primary concern when referring to agricultural management, and knowing how to
contact lessees/ranchers is vital. If cattle or other livestock get out of OSMP fenced land, rangers
will contact the lessee first to fix the problem and respond as necessary to ensure public safety;
however, rangers should repair damaged fences to temporarily alleviate the issue. Damage to fences
by vehicles or sections that require substantial replacement will be reported to the resources
supervisor or on-duty natural resource specialist. The resources supervisor will coordinate
restitution for fence repair with insurance carriers, and responding rangers will collect the
corresponding Colorado State Patrol case report number.

Facilities Maintenance

Monitoring OSMP facilities is considered part of ranger patrol. In addition to the staff-occupied
buildings, there are many other OSMP-owned buildings. If there is evidence of deteriorating
conditions or repair issues of any kind to buildings or structures (including graffiti), rangers will
notify the appropriate facilities management group member; broader workplace notifications may
be necessary if a staff building is unsafe. Graffiti on trailhead structures or on natural features
should be reported to trailhead staff if assistance is needed for its removal. Rangers should
otherwise be prepared to remove smaller amounts of graffiti while on patrol.

Trails

Monitoring trail conditions is also considered part of ranger patrol. Unsafe conditions can be found
in many forms and need to be reported; fallen trees comprise the most significant ongoing issue.
Rangers will coordinate with the Trails and Visitor Access work group, and those rangers with

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