2012 Ranger Excellence School Training Schedule

Save the date: 2012 Ranger Excellence School will be May 14th through May 18th at the Ranch, Larimer County Fairgrounds and Events Complex.

The COSA Ranger Training Program was established in 2004 when the City of Fort Collins Natural Areas rangers teamed with the Larimer County Department of Natural Resource rangers to implement a routine refresher training protocol for open space rangers. In March 2005, both agencies conducted a joint training in an effort to build a working partnership, lower training costs, and complete required annual training.

In 2011, Larimer County Department of Natural Resources began to host the COSA Ranger Training, calling the training the Ranger Excellence School. The reason for the name change is that the week of training has been greatly expanded into a training conference. Instead of having one possible class per day/session, participants can choose one of several options per session to attend. Many more classes have been added to give attendees the freedom to customize the training they desire and need. Training has also been moved to the Thomas M. McKee 4-H, Youth & Community Building at The Ranch Larimer County Fairgrounds and Events Complex to accommodate the expanded number of classes and participants.

The training conference:

• provides rangers with training in wildland fire suppression, self-defense, medical incidents, law enforcement, boat operation, visitor contacts, and mountain biking pertaining to the role of a ranger in today's society.
• equips rangers with certifications such as wilderness first aid/wilderness first responder recertification, oil capsaicin (OC), and baton.
• believes in the importance of highly trained and professional rangers who are skilled in a variety of disciplines.
• understands the importance of serving the public and promotes a high level of customer service.
• provides a network to facilitate the exchange of information between park law enforcement personnel and other park, open space, and recreation professionals.
• desires to lessen the burden of "the last minute scramble" to find and provide the necessary training required for today's ranger.

Contact Us:

Have any questions or need more information regarding The Ranger Excellence School? You may feel free to contact us.

Travis Rollins - (970) 498-5622 Larimer County Department of Natural Resources

Brian Flynn - (970) 429-2035 City of Aspen Open Space

Tom Welle - (303) 660-7337 Douglas County