There have been widespread calls for rangers to be professionalized, culminating in the recommendation for “full professionalization” at the 2019 World Ranger Congress, led by the International Ranger Federation. There have, however, been no consistent definitions of what this process should involve for rangers or what constitutes a professional ranger. We examine here eight widely acknowledged elements of existing professions and review how they apply to the current ranger occupation. These are (1) A recognized sector; (2) Competences and standards measuring professionalism; (3) Certified training and learning; (4) Remuneration, rights, and working conditions; (5) Standards of ethics and conduct; (6) Personal commitment and motivation; (7) Professional organizations and employers; and (8) Professional representative bodies. Overall, while there are examples of progress in all eight aspects of professionalization, there has been no strategic, consistent, and coordinated program for professionalizing the sector. Across much of the world, the occupation is inadequately recognized, poorly resourced and supported, and falling far short of being a respected and appreciated profession. We offer a range of recommendations for building a global professional framework that can be adapted to and adopted at the national and organizational levels to develop a ranger sector that is ready to meet the growing coverage of protected and conserved areas, the diversification of the ranger workforce, and the increasingly complex demands of the work.

(1) Background: Barrett's esophagus is a major risk factor for esophageal adenocarcinoma. In this pilot study, we employed precision mass spectrometry to map global (phospho)protein perturbations in Barrett's esophagus lesions and adjacent normal tissue to glean insights into disease progression. (2) Methods: Biopsies were collected from two small but independent cohorts. Comparative analyses were performed between Barrett's esophagus samples and adjacent matched (normal) tissues from patients with known pathology, while specimens from healthy patients served as additional controls. (3) Results: We identified and quantified 6810 proteins and 6395 phosphosites in the discovery cohort, revealing hundreds of statistically significant differences in protein abundances and phosphorylation states. We identified a robust proteomic signature that accurately classified the disease status of samples from the independent patient cohorts. Pathway-level analysis of the phosphoproteomic profiles revealed the dysregulation of specific cellular processes, including DNA repair, in Barrett's esophagus relative to paired controls. Comparative analysis with previously published transcriptomic profiles provided independent evidence in support of these preliminary findings. (4) Conclusions: This pilot study establishes the feasibility of using unbiased quantitative phosphoproteomics to identify molecular perturbations associated with disease progression in Barrett's esophagus to define potentially clinically actionable targets warranting further assessment.