Meet the Black Mountain Open Space City Rangers
by Beth Mather
The ranger crew at Black Mountain is a relatively new group of rangers here at Black Mountain Open Space. They are not new to the profession, just new to our area.
Ryan Robertson, our senior ranger, has worked for the City of San Diego as a Park Ranger/Senior Park Ranger for 18 years. He started at Black Mountain about 2 years ago. Prior to assuming his position here at Black Mountain, Ryan worked at Mission Trails Regional Park and at Balboa Park. As the son of a Navy pilot, he has lived in several places across the US as well as 2 ½ years in England. However, he mostly grew up in San Diego and spent a lot of his young years exploring Navajo Canyon and Mission Trails Regional Park as both were within bicycle riding distance from his house. He graduated from Grossmont College and San Diego State University. He had always had an interest in the natural environment, and it was at college that he learned that he could have a career improving and protecting what little nature we have left. He believes resource protection/management is one of the most important things we can do. He believes that native plants and animals are far too often disregarded and destroyed with little to no thought given about the consequences of those actions.
His favorite quote:
They are a fine, earnest, intelligent, and public-spirited body of men, these Rangers. Though small in number, their influence is large. Many and long are the duties heaped upon their shoulders. If a trail is to be blazed, it is “send a Ranger.” If an animal is floundering in the snow, a Ranger is sent to pull him out; if a bear is in the hotel, if a fire threatens a forest, if someone is to be saved, it is “send a Ranger.” If a Dude wants to know the why, if a Sagebrusher is puzzled about a road, it is “ask the Ranger.” Everything the Ranger knows, he will tell you, except about himself.
Stephen T. Mather, 1 st Director of the National Park Service
Ryan is happily married to his college girlfriend and has two great kids, a son who is beginning college at UC Davis this year and a daughter who will be a sophomore in high school.
Matt, Sam and Ryan
Our other two rangers are Matt Hopkins and Sam Olea, both have been at Black Mountain for about 9 months. They also grew up in the San Diego area.
Matt grew up spending a lot of time outdoors. He fell in love with state parks like Palomar Mountain and Rancho Cuyamaca as well as the forest service land that borders them. By the time he graduated high school he knew that he would be working outdoors. During his college years he worked as a kayak guide in Matlahuayl State Marine Reserve just off the coast of UCSD. After he received his degree in Environmental Science, he spent 5 years doing habitat restoration for a private company and a nonprofit. This is where his knowledge and passion for native ecosystems sharpened. According to Matt, “as a recent addition to the Black Mountain Rangers I feel blessed to have the opportunity to work with and protect the awesome parks that fall into our responsibility.”
Sam started on the pathway to becoming a ranger when he began working as a park attendant for Lake Dixon about 10 years ago. He liked it because he was able to work outside and not stuck inside an office all day. He also liked being away from the city for a while and to be able to enjoy nature. Doing trail maintenance and helping coots who were tangled in fishing line made him want to do more to protect the wildlife and their habitat. He assumed more responsibilities when he was promoted to ranger at Lake Dixon. In 2020, he began working for the county of San Diego where his new workstation was Lake Morena. There he was able to improve his interpretative, maintenance, and trail work skills. Working at a high fire risk location, he also got plenty of training on fire prevention and learned about the effects of wildfires have on chaparral. Due to the closeness of his worksite to the Pacific Crest Trail, he also assisted in search and rescues for missing/injured hikers. He considers it was a great opportunity to by hired by the city of San Diego. He has continued to learn and enhance his skills in this position working with Ryan and Sam, who he considers a great team.
Although we call them the Black Mountain rangers, our rangers are responsible for 4 other, widespread areas. They are the rangers for Clevenger Canyon Open Space off highway 78 on the way to Ramona, the top of Mount Woodson, Gonzales Canyon on Del Mar Heights Rd, and Crest Canyon on the west side of I-5. This large geographical area keeps them busy and moving.
Despite the everyday responsibilities they have in keeping these multiple Open Spaces in good shape, because of their great interest in healthy habitat and ecosystems, they have initiated restoration projects to improve the habitat in the Lusardi Grasslands, part of the Black Mountain Open Space. The photo shows Matt checking on their plantings in the grasslands. They are also working on establishing oaks near Lusardi Creek.
Please join me in welcoming these rangers to our community. We are so fortunate to have such great rangers at Black Mountain Open Space well as at the Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve.
Matt checking on new plantings in the grasslands.
