SAMO Adventures!!

Hey everyone, It’s me again bringing you another exciting SAMO adventure. What a week!! Car patrols, bike rides, radio calls, monitoring park resources and issuing permits warnings filled my week, plus the Santa Ana winds drove the temperature into triple digits which really made me miss the tropical temperatures back home in the U.S Virgin Islands.

The week started off with vehicular patrols and foot patrols in some of the most frequented areas of the park, in which we monitored violations of the law. Due to the massiveness of the park, there is so much land for LE rangers to cover simultaneously. In order to keep an eye on what occurs in areas of the park, surveillance cameras are set up to monitor visitors use patterns while at the park. Visitors come to the park for various reasons; to hike, mountain bike, and even to ride horses throughout the mountains while others come to the park to simply walk their dogs.By observing park use patterns it helps us at SAMO by giving us insight on what we can do to make visitor experience more enjoyable.My supervisor taught me how to set up cameras in stealth to gather information on visitor trail use. Law enforcement also uses observation, to start and end investigations for violations of park rules and regulations. Since SAMO does not charge visitors an entry fee, surveillance helps visitor and resource protection division (VPR) by gather statistics on the number of visitors that come to the park, what activities they partake in as well as capturing footage of wildlife such as mountain lions for example.   

  

For the past few days, I've read up on Title 36 Code of Federal Regulations, they're a set of rules issued by federal agencies of the United States such as parks, forests, and public property. Understanding what Title 36 CFR is has expanded my knowledge on what’s permitted and what’s not permitted within the park boundaries.  I was assigned and trained on how to properly use radios to communicate with other LE rangers and Angeles dispatch. On a daily basis I am required to call in and out of service and radio dispatch when on foot or car patrol, in addition to when I make visitor contacts with LE rangers.

Over the weekend, an excessive heat warning was put in place for several areas of southern California. The blazing conditions stemmed from the Santa Ana winds nearby SAMO. Due to the extreme weather conditions, Ranger Ibanez and I conducted a 6 mile bike patrol in the Cheeseboro Canyons to ensure the safety of visitors. On this patrol we spoke with some of the visitors at the park while handing out bottles of water to those in need. Due to the intense weather conditions, hydration was very critical. While on the Cheeseboro Canyon trails, we recorded temperatures up to 117˚ Fahrenheit. This is the hottest weather that I have ever experienced in my life. For my first time mountain biking, I felt that I did a great job, I actually did better than I expected. The experience made my navigational skills stronger, as well as, promoting my cardiovascular health.

I had the opportunity to work with the fire management staff within VRP. These fire fighters are crucial in a very unique park like SAMO. They provide a fuel reduction and defensible spacing that removes excess vegetation from areas boarding park and private land boundaries. During the week, we scouted for areas within the park boundaries that required maintenance. We also evaluated what vegetation needed to be removed versus vegetation that is protected within the National Park while factoring in the impact to the wildlife within the area.. In essence, they protect the community from wildfires. Defensible spacing improves fire safety for those who live near the park whenever a wildfire occurs as well as protecting the natural and cultural resource within the park. 

Every day in SAMO has been an adventure!! There is much more to this park than meets the eye. VPR at SAMO has really made the experience so far worthwhile, I’m eager to learn as much as I can from them while on my adventures at SAMO.