Kamiak Butte has new park ranger

A park ranger has been hired for Kamiak Butte County Park.

County Parks Director Tim Myers reported to the county commissioners recently that Laura Bloomfield has been hired for the position. She began her duties Aug. 29. Kamiak Butte had been without a ranger since May 20.

“Not having a park ranger, certainly we haven't been able to do project work we needed to get done,” said Myers. He noted that the Wawawai park ranger, Dave Mahan, has been filling in on an interim basis.

Bloomfield, a 2003 Pullman High School graduate and 2010 University of Idaho graduate, said she is excited for her new position.

“It's been really fun and busy,” she said. “I'll be doing some maintenance, overseeing the park and interacting with the visitors.”

Bloomfield graduated from the U of I with a degree in recreation resource tourism. She said she has always wanted to work in a park setting. She previously worked as a manager at the Ross store in Moscow.

“This is a little more aligned with my degree,” she said. “I'm looking forward to just keeping on meeting people and improving things.”

Myers said the hire should allow the Kamiak Butte campground to re-open soon. The campground has been closed since July 1 following a fire June 26 at the butte.

“The fire occurred, and then we closed the campground,” said Myers, noting the lack of a ranger and dry weather conditions as contributing factors to that decision.

Myers said re-opening the campground is now mostly weather dependent.

“We did get some rain today,” he said Tuesday. “It's not enough yet to open the campground back up.”

To stay up to date on when the campground will re-open, check the Whitman County Parks and Recreation Department Facebook page.