Hundreds of rangers representing dozens of countries will focus on “Connecting Parks, Rangers, and Communities” at the eighth World Ranger Congress from May 21-26 at the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park.

The gathering at the YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park, Colorado, is the first time the Congress, which happens every three years, will be hosted in the United States. Between 300 and 400 rangers, who are members of the 63 ranger associations in 46 countries that make up the worldwide International Ranger Federation (IRF), will share their passion for conserving the natural and cultural heritage of their home countries, states and territories.

“Rangers are a special breed of people — dedicated, passionate and determined,” IRF President Sean Willmore, the founder of Australia-based Thin Green Line Foundation, which supports rangers in anti-poaching efforts, said in a release. “Whether you are called a forest guard, guarde parquet, guarde forestal, warden, eco guard, indigenous land protector — it does not matter — you are part of one very special family: a family dedicated to protecting the world’s most special places, and its natural and cultural heritage.”

The World Ranger Congress provides learning, networking and inspiration for rangers; addresses global issues (climate change, habitat degradation, and poaching); and identifies actions for the IRF and its member associations to broaden relationships with new and existing partners.

“The World Ranger Congress promises to be an inspiring week-long educational event for deeply committed rangers of all disciplines from across the planet,” said Erika Jostad, president of the Association of National Park Rangers (ANPR) and chief ranger at Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska. “We look forward to welcoming all of the participants who are gathering to learn and share information about protecting wildlife, parks and other special sites around the world.” ANPR is the American organizing association and host for the event.

U.S. National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis, author Terry Tempest Williams, park ranger Shelton Johnson, and conservationist Harvey Locke are slated to speak at the event.

“As American attendees, we sometimes lose sight of how good we have it here,” said World Ranger Congress Chair Bob Krumenaker, who is also superintendent of Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in Wisconsin. “To sit down over a coffee or a beer with a ranger from Africa, South Asia, or Latin America and talk about what they’re going through is humbling for us. And it’s inspirational because it gives us reason to do what we do to protect the most important places in the world.”

The World Ranger Congress program includes more than 90 sessions, panels, and workshops; field trips to nine locations in Colorado; special events including a flag ceremony with a procession of world rangers in uniform; social and networking events; a Ranger Relief program through which rangers receive needed equipment and supplies; informal trading of ranger and park memorabilia from around the world; and other activities. Translation of the plenary sessions and other selected programs into Spanish, social media updates, and posting plenary sessions to YouTube are also planned.

Several additional training opportunities are being offered for rangers in association with the World Ranger Congress, including job shadowing opportunities at U.S. parks, National Association for Interpretation training in communication skills, and seminars conducted in English and Spanish at iconic western U.S. national parks in partnership with the Center for Protected Area Management at Colorado State University.

The 2016 World Ranger Congress will be the first convened in the United States, which is marking the centennial of the National Park Service this year. The first World Ranger Congress was held in Poland in 1995. Delegates met in Costa Rica in 1997, South Africa in 2000, Australia in 2003, Scotland in 2006, Bolivia in 2009 and Tanzania in 2012.