The author retired from the National Park Service after a 32-year career as a park ranger, biologist, and administrator. He worked in seven national parks: Crater Lake, Death Valley, Pinnacles, Zion, Big Bend, Great Smoky Mountains, and the Virgin Islands. He also served as Southwest Region Chief Scientist in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and as Chief of Resource Management and Chief Scientist for the National Park Service in Washington, D.C.
 
Since retirement, he has authored 31 books on National Parks and wildlife, and two novels: Natural Inclinations, One Man's Adventures in the Natural World, and Ruins to Ruins, From the Mayan Jungle to the Aztec Metropolis.
 
Ro lives in Bryan, Texas.