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I think that you are being far from realistic about working for one of the resource agencies in the Federal government. I know a number of people who do, and their account of their careers doesn't square with what you think it will be at all. First and foremost, ultimately you will go where they tell you to go. You may (if you're lucky) have some choice along the way, but if you are at some place you absolutely love and they tell you that they are transferring you to someplace you may hate--well, you're gonna go if you expect to keep working or have any chance for advancement.
Dirty little myth number two is that all of those folks working in an agency like the BLM or Forest Service are out there on the public lands on a daily basis, etc., etc. Truth is, like everybody else, most of them spend most of their time sitting in an office somewhere. Often, that is at a regional headquarters in a major city (or in DC). These days, most of the folks who actually are out in the field the most are the grunt laborers and--in many cases--unpaid volunteers. That is becoming even more prevalent as budgets shrink. A friend of mine who is a long-time Forest Service employee lamented to me the other day that about the only time he's out on the National Forest he works for is on his days off--and he is a wildlife specialist.
Way back when, I seriously looked at a Forest Service career, as I love being out in the mountains in the Rockies. A school chum's Dad who was the Supervisor of one of Colorado's National Forests at the time was kind enough to talk to me and explained "the facts of life" about what a Forest Service career really entailed. I wound up going a different direction. I still have tremendous respect for the people who work in the public lands agencies, but I very much came to understand that the vision of the ranger out on the forest was the exception and not the rule when working in one of the agencies.
Lastly, colleges all over the country continue to pump out far more graduates in the disciplines associated with the public lands agencies than those agencies could ever hope to absorb. With budget difficulties facing those agencies, that situation is only going to get worse.
One other thing: if you are determined to want to work out in the field as a ranger or wildlife specialist, get a law enforcement certification. Unfortunately, that is nearly a requirement if you plan on being in the field these days.
I've been told these things, but just failed to mention them. Bad on my part. I wouldn't mind being a game warden, or just having my peace officer license for a back up plan. I don't mind being a park ranger or working for someone else. I know you gotta work from the bottom up to get to where you wanna be these days.
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