Shelby Farms Rangers must wear several hats

By Don Wade (Contact), Memphis Commercial Appeal
Wednesday, September 23, 2009

They are not law enforcement officers and they don't carry sidearms, but in many respects their mission is to serve and protect -- the patrons, the wildlife and the ecosystems in the nation's largest urban park.

That responsibility falls on seven park rangers who patrol the 4,500-acre Shelby Farms Park Conservancy.
Shelby Farms Park Conservancy Ranger Brian Wylie calls in a downed tree he spotted during a patrol of the park. Beyond maintaining security for one of the world's largest urban parks, the rangers are charged with maintaining the environmental integrity of Shelby Farms.

Kyle Kurlick/The Commercial Appeal

Shelby Farms Park Conservancy Ranger Brian Wylie calls in a downed tree he spotted during a patrol of the park. Beyond maintaining security for one of the world's largest urban parks, the rangers are charged with maintaining the environmental integrity of Shelby Farms.
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"It's not a job," said lead ranger Brian Wylie, 28, who has been there for six years. "It's like a part of me. It's like working in your own big backyard."

And you think you get tired of mowing your yard in the summertime. The mowing here is virtually non-stop through the summer, so the conservancy makes use of minimum-security county inmates to help with mowing, weeding and other chores.

But since taking over the park from the county in December 2007, the conservancy's director of park operations, Robert Mayer, has decided to mow a little less in order to restore more of the prairie grass environment.

One result: the return of some bird populations that had disappeared.

"We have different ecosystems here," Mayer said. "And we can't pick and choose what wildlife comes in and what wildlife stays out."

The rangers are well acquainted with all of the wildlife. Benn Holden, 37, is known as "Buffalo Benn" because he's in charge of the 47-member bison herd.

Holden says these buffalo are "very domesticated." Still, "when you go in there, you have to make sure you're in a relaxed state of mind. If you're not, they'll pick up on it."

By and large, the job isn't especially dangerous. It is demanding and requires the rangers to get down to the "nitty gritty," as Wylie puts it.

This could mean working on a small engine, building or mending fences and trails, anchoring picnic tables so visitors won't move them, mowing and cleaning up after storms, or politely asking couples in parked cars to take their affections elsewhere.

"We wear a lot of different hats," said Wylie.

Here's a couple more: animal rescue worker and actor. A while back, Holden found a German shepherd puppy that had been dumped and was just skin and bones.

"It took him about 20 minutes to warm up to me," said Holden. "He finally came around after I turned on my back and started whimpering."

Quipped ranger John Prescott: "Since then, Benn has quit drinking."

"He's our comedian," Wylie said with a nod to Prescott, a former Shelby County Sheriff's deputy.

The rangers maintain close communication with the sheriff's office and also may work with the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency, such as when the agency assisted with the "putting down" of a buck deer that a poacher had shot in the neck with a crossbow arrow.

But most of the time, Wylie's "big backyard" is relatively quiet. As he steered a white conservancy pick-up truck through the park recently, he pointed out a huge oak tree felled by a recent storm.

"See that?" he said to his passenger. "I really hated to lose that tree."

-- Don Wade: 529-2358

Facts about the Farm

--Shelby Farms covers 4,500 acres and is generally considered to be the nation's largest urban park.

--The park opens at sunrise and closes at sunset. "And sunset," said director of park operations Robert Mayer, "does not mean dark."

--Although rangers make a check of the park before closing the gates, people sometimes get locked in. "It's to everybody's benefit for the park to be closed at night," said lead ranger Brian Wylie. "If you're out on a trail and are bitten by a snake or have a heart attack, you're not gonna be found until the next morning."

--Venomous snakes like copperheads and cottonmouths, which are found throughout West Tennessee, are also found in the park. But Wylie said they know of no one being bitten by a poisonous snake and sightings are rare. Far more common are sightings of the banded water snake.

--Many lakes, including Patriot, Chickasaw, Indian, Willow and Boy Scout, are open to fishermen and the fish caught in them are safe to eat, Wylie said. Species of fish include crappie, bass, brim and catfish. He does not recommend eating fish from Trap Lake because of its proximity to a landfill.