After almost 40 years, Lisa Owens, a park ranger at Nimrod Lake is retiring from federal service.
Owens began her long career as a summer ranger at Nimrod Lake back in the 1980s and has been there ever since.
“I was planning on being a business teacher and ended up becoming a ranger,” she remembers fondly. “I took the position as a summer ranger at Nimrod while I was in business school; and then fell in love and switched careers.”
Owens, a native Arkansan, grew up on a family farm about 25 miles from Nimrod Lake. “Growing up on a farm all my time was spent working, so we didn’t go camping or go on vacation, so I didn’t know anything about park rangers and what they do,” said Owens.
She learned about the ranger position through a teacher at her school.
“If it hadn’t been for that teacher, I wouldn’t have known that ranger jobs even existed,” she said.
Now that teacher has become one of Owens’ summer rangers. She was also Owens’ high school basketball coach.
“I tell her all the time I am getting her back for all those line drills she made me run in high school,” she joked.
Owens is no stranger to hard work. As a teenager she was responsible for tending to the baby calves on their dairy farm and would have to get up to bottle feed them before school and then again when she returned home.
"During droughts we had to haul big tanks of water to the trough in the field for the cows because the ponds went dry, it was very labor intensive and every day was different,” said Owens.
Her favorite part of being a ranger is being outdoors and meeting new people. Owens is an avid outdoor enthusiast and enjoys various hobbies that keep her active such as hiking, camping, gardening and traveling.
One of her favorite hiking trails is Angels Landing, a 1,488-foot-tall rock formation in Zion National Park in southwestern Utah.
“I love hiking Angels Landing. It’s uphill on a cliff and you must hold onto a chain to keep from falling off. You only have a 2-foot width to walk on!”
Being with USACE for almost four decades Owens has seen a lot of change. One of the biggest changes she has noticed at the project level, is that she spends more time in the office now than she does out in the field interacting with the public.
“When I first started with USACE, there were no computers, everything was on paper, so we had to walk around with a fee book and a receipt book,” Owens said. “With all the advances in technology over the years that has changed, and we don’t have as much direct interaction with the public as we used to.”
Owens has made a positive impact on the folks and the outdoor recreation program at Nimrod Lake during her time with USACE.
“Over the years, Lisa has proven to be an expert in recreation for the Little Rock District by relying on her knowledge and serving on many teams,” said Nimrod/Blue Mountain Lake Operations Project Manager, Mark Green.
“She has created a solid recreation program at Nimrod that will endure for many years to come. She will be missed and will always be a part of the Corps family,” he said.
When asked how she feels about retirement Owens had this to say, “I have mixed emotions about retiring. I am going to miss my coworkers, they are like family, but I am looking forward to this new chapter in my life!”
Ranger Owens we thank you for your dedicated service over the years and wish you luck, health, and happiness in your retirement!
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