The Skating Ranger

PARK COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- At Eleven Mile Reservoir, the ice does most of the talking.

Bumps and burps are common; the ice's expansion and contraction, a near-constant groan.

That pristine nature is what Parks and Wildlife Ranger, Kelli Lewis, wanted to preserve.

"I wanted to do something that helped protect the thing that I loved," said Lewis, while preparing to venture out onto the ice for her patrols.

In the past, she used a snowmobile to cover the lake that spans six miles from one tip to its opposite, but the machine is heavy and can get stuck in its tracks.  Its sound also disturbs what is otherwise a peaceful setting.

The alternate choice -- waking on ice spikes -- proved laborious to cover such territory.

That's when history came to assist the present. 

"I decided to be efficient, and I ended up talking with a lot of people that day, and had some great rapport.  I was able to cover a lot more ground," said Lewis, lacing up her hockey skates.

Incidentally, the ranger grew up playing youth hockey in Eagle, Colorado, and the prospect of skating on a frozen lake was nothing foreign to her.

"I played defense growing up, so it's all about being a good skater, not being the star of the team," laughed Lewis. 

The red-headed ranger floats effortlessly from hut to hut, hole to hole, checking fishing licenses and limits -- all the while trading tips with anglers, hoping to catch salmon, pike, or trout.

Sometimes, though, her rounds garner some puzzled looks from afar.

"At first when I saw her from a distance, I thought a little girl was ice skating and I thought, 'Oh, that's pretty cool.' And then I saw a pistol on her side and I thought, 'Okay, she's not a little girl ice skating.  She's probably a ranger,'" recalled fisherman Ernesto Perez.  "To be able to do this job, and ice skate and work with people, that's pretty cool."

And, that's something Kelli Lewis would wholeheartedly agree with.

"It's a dream job.  I absolutely love being a park ranger," smiled Lewis.