Officers who protect wildlife, parks, forests, and oceans, and the people who enjoy them.
Top pay: highest pay, longest training
Wildlife Special Agent: A federal criminal investigator who busts wildlife traffickers and poachers. Typical pay $115k.
Chief Ranger (National Park): Leads the law enforcement, search and rescue, firefighting, and emergency medical rangers in a national park. Typical pay $125k.
Mid pay: solid pay, degree or apprenticeship
Game Warden: A police officer of the outdoors who enforces hunting, fishing, and boating laws and protects wildlife. Typical pay $66k.
National Park Law Enforcement Ranger: A commissioned ranger who protects visitors and resources in national parks, from Yellowstone to the Everglades. Typical pay $72k.
Bureau of Land Management Ranger: Patrols vast public lands in the West, enforcing laws on deserts, canyons, and rangelands. Typical pay $75k.
U.S. Park Police Officer: Polices famous federal parklands like the National Mall in D.C. and the Statue of Liberty in New York. Typical pay $90k.
Fisheries Enforcement Officer: Enforces ocean fishing laws and protects whales, sea turtles, and marine sanctuaries. Typical pay $85k.
Wildlife Inspector: Inspects wildlife and animal products coming through ports and airports to stop illegal trade. Typical pay $75k.
Tribal Conservation Officer: Enforces hunting, fishing, and natural resource laws on tribal lands. Typical pay $58k.
Federal Wildlife Officer: Patrols national wildlife refuges, enforcing hunting and fishing laws and protecting wildlife and visitors. Typical pay $68k.
Archaeological Crimes Investigator: A federal ranger or agent who catches looters digging up Native American graves, ancient pottery, and fossils on public land. Typical pay $95k.
Starter: fastest way in
State Park Ranger: Protects state parks and helps visitors stay safe, sometimes with law enforcement powers. Typical pay $50k.
Seasonal Interpretive Park Ranger: Works a summer season in a national or state park, leading tours and helping visitors. Typical pay $36k.
Humane Law Enforcement Officer: Investigates animal cruelty and neglect, rescues abused animals, and helps prosecute abusers. Typical pay $48k.
Hunter Education Coordinator: Runs the classes that teach new hunters about safety, ethics, and wildlife laws. Typical pay $52k.
Army Corps of Engineers Park Ranger: Manages recreation and safety at the hundreds of lakes and dams run by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Typical pay $52k.
Watercraft Inspector (Invasive Species): Inspects boats at lake ramps and highway checkpoints for zebra and quagga mussels and other invaders, and hot-washes the ones that are dirty. Typical pay $36k.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.