The first park ranger in the world was appointed in California in 1866. Galen Clark was chosen as "Guardian of Yosemite," at what was then Yosemite State Park, and the concept of rangers to protect and administer America's great nature parks was born. The tradition continued in 1872 with the establishment of the first national park at Yellowstone. From the earliest days, park rangers have been romanticized; they are explorers, outdoorsmen, tree lovers, animal protectors, police officers, nature guides, and park administrators. The park ranger has become an American icon, whose revered image has maintained itself to this very day. Title: New park ranger book by Mike Lynch Author: Staff Writer Publisher: International Police Association: Region 29 Bulletin Date: March 2009 Past IPA National President and Auburn State Park Ranger Mike Lynch is back with another book on a favorite subject of his. The new book details the history of California's state park rangers. A 35-year veteran of the State Parks Department, Lynch is currently serving as acting superintendent for the Auburn State Recreation Area. He's worked in the recreation area in the canyon near Auburn for more than three decades. Lynch has appeared in books both as a subject and author. Lynch is the author or co-author in his own right of four books, starting with 1996's "Rangers of California's State Parks" and including 2004's "Auburn Images," 2005's "Insignia of the California Resources Agency" and "American River Canyon Hikes," also in 2005. Lynch, is known as the authority on the many and varied bridges that have spanned the north and middle forks in the vicinity of the American River confluence. VISUAL HISTORY TOUR His "California State Park Rangers" provides a visual tour of the history of the men and women who have protected some treasured Golden State landmarks for more than 100 years. Lynch starts from the beginning. The first park ranger in the world was appointed in California in 1866. Galen Clark was chosen as "Guardian of Yosemite," at what was then Yosemite State Park. From there, Lynch guides readers through chapters on everything from celebrity encounters to brushes with bad guys. There are even a few Auburn-area photos in the mix. The majority of the images come from the state park ranger anniversary photograph collection and there are more than 200 of them. Lynch has a couple of goals in keeping with the spirit of the book. He said, "I hope the book will help someone to seek a career as a park ranger, with a realistic idea of what ranger work involves." And a portion of the proceeds will be donated to a good cause - the state park anniversary committee. Title: New park ranger book penned by Auburn author Author: Gus Thomson Publisher: Auburn Journal Date: 2/12/2009 Auburn State Park Ranger Mike Lynch is back with another book on a favorite subject of his. The new book details the history of California's state park rangers. A 35-year veteran of the State Parks Department, Lynch is currently serving as acting supervisor for the Auburn State Recreation Area. He's worked in the recreation area in the canyon near Auburn for more than three decades. Lynch has appeared in books both as a subject and author. When Jordan Fisher Smith's "Nature Noir" came out four years ago, it wasn't too hard for Auburn-savvy readers to figure out that the ranger named "Dave Finch" who played a role in many of the stories surrounding the American River Canyon was actually Lynch. On the other end of the word processor, Lynch is the author or co-author in his own right of four books, starting with 1996's "Rangers of California's State Parks" and including 2004's "Auburn Images," 2005's "Insignia of the California Resources Agency" and "American River Canyon Hikes," also in 2005. Lynch, known as the authority on the many and varied bridges that have spanned the north and middle forks in the vicinity of the American River confluence, has now joined a couple of other local history experts in creating fascinating books for Arcadia Publishing that feature historical images and illuminating text. Carmel Barry-Schweyer, who recently retired as Placer County archives curator, started things off in 2004 with "Mining Camps of Placer County" under the Arcadia imprint. She later penned a second book on Rocklin images. Auburn's Arthur Sommers provided some extraordinary images from his own photo collection to produce a well-received "Auburn" book for Arcadia this year. It was so popular that Sommers found no copies available from Arcadia when he wanted some of a December book signing. The first print run had already all been spoken for. VISUAL HISTORY TOUR Lynch's book could prove as popular, but on a bigger stage. His "California State Park Rangers" provides a visual tour of the history of the men and women who have protected some treasured Golden State landmarks for more than 100 years. Lynch starts from the beginning. The first pa