What Our Rangers Do 

The city of Aurora has seasonal and full-time park rangers. Full-time park rangers work year 'round in the city's parks and open space properties, including 8,000 acres of open space and over 100 miles of trails. Rangers have a heavy presence at Aurora Reservoir and tend to the day-to-day operations and staffing at Quincy Reservoir. Seasonal park rangers come on to assist with peak season usage of the reservoirs during the summer. 

Daily duties include but are not limited to the following:

• Performing front-line customer service interactions and contact with visitors including public safety, natural resource education and interpretation.

• Performing regulation and law enforcement through education, verbal warnings and summonses while patrolling via park ranger patrol vehicles, ATV, on foot, by boat and on e-bikes. 

• Responding to emergency situations on the water and on land at Aurora and Quincy Reservoirs and the 8,000 acres of open space property throughout the city.

• Investigating and responding to visitors’ issues and complaints via evidence collection, witness statements and other relevant information to facilitate in conflict resolution.

• Helping protect the natural and man-made resources throughout the city through enforcement of state boating and fishing regulations, conducting aquatic nuisance species inspections and educating citizens about the varying recreational opportunities available to them. 

• Providing for healthy ecosystems and monitoring of wildlife including American Bald Eagle nest monitoring and evaluation of sick and injured wildlife within open space properties. Park rangers coordinate with Colorado Parks and Wildlife and other partners to ensure wildlife protections for future generations.

Our goal is to provide a positive, enjoyable and safe recreational experience to all of our visitors. This includes providing a variety of recreational opportunities including fishing, boating, walking, bird watching and more. The ability to achieve this desired goal in such diverse situations depends on properly used management tools. 

Our focus is on educating the public about the resources and how they can use them safely. Our departmental commitment is to continue to provide this level of service to our visiting public. 

Park rangers help protect natural resources through resource monitoring and enforcement of open space regulations. Our park rangers regularly come to the rescue for fish, birds, people and pets. Whether at a reservoir, a trail or open space or at a developed park, rangers are available to provide public safety services, resource protection and enforcement, when necessary.

Ranger Bio

The park ranger group formally began in 1984, with the opening of Quincy Reservoir for recreational use. Since then the needs of our citizens, increases in park visitation and changes in best practices have forced the evolution of the park rangers into a diverse team that matches the visitors we see utilizing our parks and open space every day.

Combined we have well over 50 years of experience in the field of outdoor recreation, public safety and natural resource protection. Each ranger on staff brings a unique perspective to the job including biology, environmental education, recreation planning, park management, law enforcement and fishery management. While we all have favorite activities including hiking, hunting, fishing, photography, and archery, it is our love for the outdoors and commitment to this community that keeps our tight-knit group coming to work every day.

Park rangers train with Aurora Police Department, Aurora Fire and Rescue, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Colorado Open Space Alliance (COSA) agencies and Rocky Mountain Ranger Association (RMRA) partners to better serve the public and to stay proficient in as many facets as the job demands.

Do you see yourself standing with us? If so, consider this your invitation to apply! Our work group includes park rangers, watercraft inspectors, beach lifeguards, park maintenance, reservoir administration staff and nature educators. 

If you're interested in learning more, please contact us at 303.326.8430

Open Space Maintenance

The Open Space & Natural Resources Maintenance Operations group is responsible for year round upkeep and improvement projects on city-owned open space, natural areas, vacant lands  and trails. Additionally, the city's reservoir recreation facilities, nature centers, dog parks, archery ranges, rodeo arena and some undeveloped rights-of-way are under the maintenance of this group. Whether you enjoy hiking, biking, boating, wildlife watching or any other activity at these locations and facilities, this is the group that creates safe and healthy environments for your active lifestyle.

Learn more about Open Space Maintenance: 
Native Grass Conservation Areas