The USDA Forest Service has created two national junior ranger programs: Junior Forest Ranger Adventure Guide and Junior Snow Ranger. The Junior Forest Rangers is a program allows children to, after completing a booklet of activities related to outdoor skills, conservation, and forest fire prevention, receive a Junior Forest Rangers or Snow Ranger patch and certificate. The Junior Forest Ranger program is also available in Spanish. The forest service also maintains a webpage with kid friendly activities.
The Junior Forest Rangers program began in 1953, when a Smokey Bear plush toy produced by Ideal Toys and sold by Macy's department store came with a card that allowed children to contact Smokey and become a Junior Forest Ranger. [1] In 1955 there were 500,000 Junior Forest Rangers, and Smokey Bear was receiving so much mail that in 1965 he was given his own zip code. [2] The Forest Service re-launched the Junior Forest Rangers program in 2006 with a redesigned booklet, now called an "Adventure Guide." [3]
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