Park gets full-time ranger

Beginning in late November, the Bear Paw Battlefield will have a full-time, year-round ranger for the first time since it was added to the Nez Perce National Park in 1992.

The park has had a National Park Service ranger since 1997, but he was there for nine months of the year and transferred in March, said Jon James, superintendent of Big Hole and Bear Paw battlefields.

The Bear Paw Battlefield had two seasonal rangers for the summer and has had seasonal rangers since opening in 1992, James added.

The new year-round ranger will protect the battlefield and also establish community relations with area schools and educational programs, James said.

The new, year-round ranger, Curtis Galvez, worked for the National Park Service in Idaho and was selected because of his experience in schools and the Park Service's educational outreach program, James said. Galvez will use the program to educate students here about Bear Paw Battlefield.

Galvez will also take care of the day-to-day maintenance of the park and will work with local communities for the future development of Bear Paw Battlefield, James said.