VISITOR CENTER OPENS FULL TIME

By STEPHEN HAMMILL

Senior park ranger Jason Chilson was raised in the Midwest, in Wellington, Kan., a small town outside of Wichita, population 8,000.
“It’s the wheat capital of the world,” he said with a chuckle.

Nature has always been a home to him.

This past November, Chilson was hired as the full-time ranger for Lettuce Lake Park in Tampa.

The park occupies 240 acres in Northeast Hillsborough, hugged by the Hillsborough River to the west and Interstate 75 to the east. It was first designated as a park in 1978 and was opened in 1982.

The visitor center will stay open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

“The building wasn’t being used, and they wanted to put somebody here for the visitors,” said Chilson, who, before coming to Lettuce Lake, was a ranger at the Upper Tampa Bay Park.

Chilson, 26, has been part of the Parks, Recreation and Conservation Department since moving here from Kansas two years ago.

“The weather is great,” said Chilson. “I love it here. Summers in Kansas can get to 110 degrees, and the winters are freezing.”

“I’ve always been around the environment,” he said. Chilson recalled working 16-hour days on farms before receiving his bachelor’s degree from Kansas State University.

Chilson’s job at the visitor center is still taking shape. When visitors wander in they will ask questions, which he is happy to answer. He does his share of PowerPoint presentations, too. School groups come out on field trips – about one per week right now.

Most of the kids he sees are originally from cities, and Chilson notices a disconnect with the natural world around them.

“Most of them haven’t seen a snake up close,” he said. “But if they get an introduction in a positive way, they’ll understand that they’re actually good to have around.”

Chilson has some volunteers on staff to help keep the visitor’s center open during the weekends. The Audubon Society also uses the center on weekend afternoons.

This is the first time in many years the park has opened its visitors’ center full time, and the visitors are starting to notice.

“When we opened in November we had about 10 people a day come through; now we have 50 to 80,” he said.

Chilson encourages visitors to take photos of interesting flora and fauna in the park for display in the center. There is even a photography club that meets in the park on a regular basis.

He said the center needs some improvements, particularly to its aging dioramas and map displays, some of which date back to the birth of the park more than 25 years ago. They’re trying to get some grants to improve the facilities, but the budget is tight.

“Most of what we get has to be donated, which can be tough.”

Lettuce Lake Park is at 6920 E. Fletcher Ave. in Tampa.

Chilson can be reached for information on school trips, or for any park questions, at 987-6387.