Scott Hartley, Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve Park Superintendent.
Name: Scott Hartley
Occupation: Park Superintendent at Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve in North Carolina.
What motivated you to pursue a career in State Parks?
I became a Park Ranger and then Park Superintendent because it gave me the opportunity to work and live in the most beautiful places in North Carolina. To be able to live and work in the park and educate people about and protect our state’s natural and cultural heritage is very rewarding. I think it is the most important thing we do in NC State Parks.
Best part of the gig?
Everything—except some of the administrative duties! I have the best job in the world. I really enjoy doing interpretive and educational programs, bird banding and conducting prescribed burns. Put a drip torch in my hand and I’m a very happy man.
What’s been the biggest challenge so far?
Using prescribed fire in a suburban area. Weymouth is surrounded by development and smoke management is the most challenging aspect of using prescribed fire. We burn small areas and put a lot of effort in mopping up after a burn (i.e. using water to put out logs and snags that are producing a lot of smoke) in order to reduce the amount of residual smoke so it doesn’t affect our park neighbors.
What do you look forward to most each year at Weymouth Woods Sandhills?
Spring because it’s prime burn time—the peak time for doing school programs—and there is so much happening in the natural world here at the park. I try to spend all the time I can outside so I don’t miss anything. This time of year is my favorite because I’m immersed in all the parts of my job that led me to work in State Parks.
Have any funny stories you care to share?
The funniest thing that ever happened to me while at work was when… I was a ranger at Eno River State Park I was hiking on the Buckquarter Creek Trail. A small tree had fallen across the creek offering a quicker way to cross instead of hiking another ¼ mile to the existing bridge. So I start across, lose my balance and fall into the creek in full uniform. The water fortunately wasn’t deep and I landed on my feet. As I was climbing up the bank to the trail I was thinking how lucky I was that no one saw me and I come face to face with a visitor with a big smile on their face.
Prescribed fires at Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve.
What would surprise most people about what you do?
You never know what you will see or hear each day. For example, this New Years day I had a park visitor come and report that there was a small monkey on the trail. When I asked the visitor what color it was, they said it was brown and wearing a diaper. Indeed, we later found that a small Rhesus monkey had escaped from a park neighbor’s house.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever gotten about the great outdoors?
Spend time with people who enjoy, respect and understand how important it is to get outdoors and learn about our environment.
If you could design your own state park, what would it include?
Everything we have in all of our NC State parks compacted into one park so you could see the entire park in a few days. It would have the highest mountain east of the Black Hills, one of the tallest sand dunes on the east coast, the best preserved brick fort on the east coast, the oldest Longleaf pine in the universe, lakes, rivers and streams, mountains, spectacular views, waterfalls, beaches, barrier islands, swamps, examples of all the states natural communities, low-impact recreation, campgrounds, and visitor centers for people to learn about the park and our states natural heritage.
Fill in the blank
When I’m not working you’ll likely find me:
Outside looking at birds, bugs, plants, etc.; hiking, running, taking pictures, traveling, and enjoying life.
Outdoor goals for 2012:
Spend as much time as I can outside, explore new areas, continue to learn about the outdoors, share what I learn, and, hopefully, make a difference.
Red-cockaded woodpeckers.
If it were not for Pocket Ranger®:
People would not be reading this! They also wouldn’t know that Weymouth Woods is one of the best places in North Carolina to see endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers. They would not have lots of great park information at their fingertips.
The best reason to bring along your own Pocket Ranger®:
It gives visitors access to information about our parks. I think it makes visitors better prepared and more likely to have a better experience at the park.
My favorite mobile apps:
Ibird Pro and Go Sky Watch.
An interesting fact about Weymouth Woods Sandhills:
We have a 155-acre tract of old growth Longleaf pine that has the oldest known Longleaf pine in the galaxy at 463 years old. We celebrate this tree’s birthday each year by having hikes to see it and provide talks on the ecology of the Longleaf pine forest.
