Aliesha Routenburg, a recent graduate of the Maine Forest Ranger Academy, has been on the job for over a year. The territory she covers includes Jefferson, Nobleboro, Waldoboro, Rockland, Friendship, Cushing, South Thomaston and also island communities such as Vinalhaven.
Maine Forest Rangers keep tabs on the lumber harvesting industry in the state, conduct water quality inspections and teach school children about the forest and Maine’s wild territory. “Fire prevention is our main goal,” she said.
Routenburg graduated with eight others from the academy and was recognized for completing the 10 weeks of training during a ceremony at the Maine Criminal Justice Academy on Nov. 14.
According to a recent press release from Fire Prevention Specialist Kent Nelson at the Dept. of Conservation, rangers learned skills in such areas as fire suppression and wildfire investigation, general law enforcement, enforcing environmental laws and investigating timber theft. Nelson said that most of the forest rangers were hired and working prior to completing the 10-week course.
Routenburg said she enjoys the work and it dovetails with her long-time interest in the job that takes her outdoors most of the time. “I get to be outside and see a lot of beautiful places,” she said. “Conservation is so important.”
Routenburg, 27, grew up in West Rochester, a bustling town in southeastern Massachusetts off Buzzard’s Bay. Her interest in the wilderness and sport brought Routenburg to the University of Maine, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Parks, Recreation and Tourism.
She worked in Job Corps as a Recreation Specialist in Bangor, coaching sports and taking students on field trips. Shortly after her stint with Job Corps, Routenburg went to work as a forest ranger, on patrol out of the Old Town headquarters in Enfield, staying for three months until she moved to Jefferson.
Routenburg said that she went through a lot of on-the-job field training until she started the 10-week academy course Sept. 8. She said that the training is much more concentrated and covers topical areas that rangers may only touch on during field training. For example, she said that they have a full week of fire investigation instruction.
She said she has investigated forest fires, what the Forest Service is now calling a “wildfire”, during her time as a ranger in this area.
A wildfire last spring near the Y.M.C.A. in Damariscotta and her subsequent investigation led Routenburg to teach a Smokey the Bear presentation to the children who had witnessed the fire.
“We’re seeing people being more conscious of the changes regarding conservation awareness,” Routenburg said.
The Jefferson forest ranger said that she has enjoyed the Smoky the Bear presentations she has given at area grade schools and the Y.M.C.A.
“April and May are very busy months,” she said.
Routenburg said that since the ground during that time of year is still frozen, the surface tends to dry up in the sun. Before green-up of grasses, this causes a “cured state” on the ground surface that is flammable, she said.
For a cured state environment and other reasons, Routenburg often conducts spark arrester inspections of machinery. The spark arrester on many different kinds of machinery, from chain saws to train engines, prevents engine sparks from flying out and starting fires.
The Forest Service also keeps track of illegal tipping. People take branches from fir and other tree species for the purpose of making wreaths. Some sell the fir tips to large dealers who then sell to wreath makers. People need written permission from landowners in order to take tree tips.
“There is a lot of illegal tipping,” she said. “It’s big down east.”
Routenburg said that for some reason, tipping activity is more prevalent along the coast. The Forest Service has also discovered a few cases in Jefferson as well, she said.
People often wonder what the Fire Service does during the winter months, as the wildfire risk is less apparent. Routenburg said that they do a lot with the Forest Practices Act, which is Dept. of Conservation policy on forest management.
“People tend to see more when the leaves are off the trees and harvest more when the ground is frozen,” Routenburg said. “There’s a lot of activity in the winter.”
This local forest ranger enjoys her work and looks positively toward the future.
“It’s a great time to be working in this field and being able to educate people,” she said.