Fran Rametta, park ranger for Congaree National Park, retired August 30, 2010, after 30 years. When people travel to South Carolina’s Congaree National Park, they will no doubt be surprised by the verdant backdrop that houses the diverse plant and animal life in the forested floodplain, one of the country’s newest national parks. As they make their way along the boardwalk to meander among the towering cathedral– like canopy of trees overhead where birds and butterflies, powerful predators, and scurrying quarry co–exist, visitors may stop and ponder the wondrous way the universe works. But to ranger Fran Rametta, this is his workplace as well as his escape and a balm to his soul.

“I’ve always believed there are two parts to the American dream with one being able to be a forest ranger and the other one to be a millionaire.” the ranger, who retired August 30, said on a walk through his wilderness. “I always thought I had achieved the first half by being a park ranger, but I was shortchanged in the millionaire department. Then a visitor came in three years ago and I told him my theory. He looked around and told me I was already a millionaire. It took a stranger to remind me this place that I was taking care of and helping to preserve for future generations, with all of its trees, plants and animals was priceless.”

Fran Rametta, park ranger of Congaree National Park After 30 years in the park that most of us would think of as a wilderness to be treated with caution, Rametta considers it his personal backyard. As we strolled down the 2.4–mile boardwalk that loops around to return to the visitor center, Ramsetta said he can point out and name almost every flying creature and identify unseen birds simply by hearing their call.

In mid–sentence of telling the history of the park, and how it came to be a national monument, he pointed out two different species of butterflies as they fluttered by, stopping here and there on a flowering plant. He smiled when he heard the piercing call of a Red Shouldered Hawk. As this reporter was busily taking notes, I heard a distinctive thud of something crashing through the trees and naturally moved a little closer to the ranger, wide eyed and whispering “what was that?”

Fran Rametta, park ranger of Congaree National Park Knowing it would be some fierce forest animal determined to have me for lunch, I was prepared to fight or flee, but the seasoned ranger merely chuckled and informed me it was a pine cone, falling into the marsh.

Coming from a military family, Rametta was born in Hartford, Connecticut but traveled extensively during his childhood. He knew early on he wanted to work with nature. When he attended the University of Maryland, it was no surprise to anyone that he majored in fish and wildlife management.

“My very first job was at the Washington Monument, and then I moved to the Jefferson Memorial,” Rametta remembered. “When I moved to the Jefferson Memorial, it was the bicentennial year, and I had the night shift. They had fireworks every night, and there I was from the steps of the Jefferson Memorial giving a talk on the history of Thomas Jefferson with his statue as a background behind me and illuminated by the fireworks while in my ranger uniform. Can you imagine? That made me feel very patriotic coming from a military background.

“In two years I must have spoken to millions of people who came there. It was quite an illustrious beginning for a kid fresh out of school.”

He then was assigned to a park in the Great Smokey Mountains before coming to what was then the Congaree Swamp.

“People couldn’t believe I was leaving such a beautiful area like the Smokey Mountains for a swamp,” he laughed. “But when they came and saw it, they understood.”

Rametta is married and has four children, three girls and a son. He also has three grandchildren. He said that his biggest pleasure over the years has been watching the changes to the park and being there when it went from a swamp to a national park.

“I’ve had a hand in developing some of the tours and nature hikes,” he said. “And I love the owl prowls. I love to watch the kids as they spot an owl in the wild for the very first time. That look on their faces is priceless.”

History shows that prehistoric villagers hunted the area and fished its waters. The Congaree Indians claimed the floodplain

as their own. Oddly, congaree

translates into “dragging the bottom of the boat,” according to the account of the land detailed in the visitor center, which is pretty appropriate for the way the river flows, Rametta said.

European explorers came and brought a smallpox epidemic with them that decimated the Congaree Indians. That opened doors for land grants from the King of England until 1776 when the state of South Carolina assumed the right to distribute ownership of the land. Attempts to make the land suitable for planting, as well as grazing, continued through 1860.

The floodplain’s minor changes in elevation and consequent flooding stifled agricultural activity, but the intermittent flooding allowed for soil nutrient renewal and enabled the area’s trees to thrive.

Bald Cypress, in particular, became a target for logging. By 1905, loggers realized the poor accessibility by land confined logging to tracts near waterways so logs could be floated down river.

“Because of the constant dampness,” Rametta said, “many of the cut trees remained too green to float. Operations were suspended within ten years leaving the floodplain basically untouched until 1969. At that time, relatively high timber prices prompted private landowners to consider resuming logging operations,” Rametta said.

By then, people had begun to realize the necessity of preserving natural land areas and as a result of an effective grass roots campaign launched by the Sierra Club and many local individuals, Congress established Congaree Swamp National Monument in 1976. That designation was not enough to protect the area from the force of Hurricane Hugo in September 1989, according to the park’s website.

“The park lost several National Champion trees, but the overall effect was a natural stimulus to growth,” the website states. “Hugo snapped tree tops, thereby allowing sunlight to come through the canopy, promoting new growth beneath. Fallen trees have provided shelter for many species of organisms; standing dead trees became new homes for a variety of plant and animal species, including fungi, insects, reptiles, birds, and bats,” said Rametta

And that is what Rametta has been watching in his 30 years as keeper of the land.

“It’s not just me,” he said. “It takes a lot of people who love and respect the land to keep a place this beautiful in its natural state.”

Ranger Corinne Fenner agreed that it does take many people to preserve the land, but she said that Rametta’s dedication to it was inspiring to everyone who met him.

“I’ve worked with Ranger Fran for almost four years,” Fenner said. “There’s no way to measure how much he has taught me. When you listen to him, you can’t help but feel his love of the land and want to protect it yourself. He can’t be replaced.”

When the logging industry began once again looking at the park in the 1969, energized citizens like Harry Hampton, a nature writer in the early 50s, began a successful campaign to protect the local lands from timber harvesting and exploitation in the 1960s.

Today, Congaree National Park encompasses nearly 27,000 acres, including the largest intact expanse of old growth bottomland hardwood forest remaining in the southeastern United States. The visitor center that most people see first as they begin their park excursion is named after Hampton,

As Rametta gets ready to pass the baton to those will will follow him, he said he plans to tour other national parks with his family.

“I think it’s time I become a visitor and see what else is out there,” he quipped.

He also plays in “Heart ’n’ Soul,” a rhythm and blues, doo–wop band that plays 50s and 60s music.

“We play mostly for charities,” the modest trumpet player/singer said. But we have a website with samples of our songs on it.”

Preserving the land has been Rametta’s passion for his entire life, and that’s what he said everyone should do.

When young people ask me for advice in deciding what to do with their lives, I always tell them the same thing,” the ranger said. “I tell them to find their passion and then find a way to make money doing it.”

On June 30, 1983 Congaree Swamp National Monument was designated an International Biosphere Reserve. In July of 2001 it was designated a Globally Important Bird Area, and on November 10, 2003, it was designated as the nation’s 57th National Park. And that is what Rametta said was one of his proudest moments. He said he will miss his work, but he knows he will be back.

“I’ve been privileged to be able to come here every day and talk to people about the things I’m most passionate about. This isn’t like going to an office with a desk. There is always something new happening here. Growth, death, rebirth. And I’ve been able to watch it evolve and watch it become a real national park. How can you top that?”