A Trip to the - Yosemite Online
A Trip to the - Yosemite Online
A Trip to the - Yosemite Online
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PARK PROFILE<br />
HARRY RAMIREZ<br />
What do you enjoy most about your current job I like<br />
talking <strong>to</strong> people before <strong>the</strong>y enter <strong>the</strong> wilderness about<br />
wilderness ethics. I really appreciate my NPS and YA<br />
coworkers, <strong>to</strong>o.<br />
LAUREL REMATORE<br />
How did your cooperative student intern experience<br />
prepare you for your current job It helped me become<br />
familiar with <strong>the</strong> park and <strong>the</strong> wonderful people who<br />
work here. I also learned many valuable skills and now<br />
feel that a park service career is within my reach.<br />
Name: Harry Ramirez<br />
Job Title: Backcountry Ranger<br />
Home<strong>to</strong>wn: Calexico, California<br />
Education: Currently a biological science major at<br />
UC Merced; will graduate in May 2008<br />
Total number of years working in <strong>Yosemite</strong>:<br />
Two seasons<br />
Describe your first visit <strong>to</strong> <strong>Yosemite</strong>. Through campus<br />
recreation at UC Merced I visited <strong>Yosemite</strong> for <strong>the</strong> first<br />
time in August 2005. On <strong>the</strong> first day I found myself<br />
pulling bull thistle from Sentinel Meadow and marveling<br />
at <strong>the</strong> scenic views <strong>the</strong> Valley floor had <strong>to</strong> offer. I thought<br />
<strong>Yosemite</strong> was a very large and unfamiliar place were I<br />
could easily get lost. I remember hiking up <strong>the</strong> famous<br />
John Muir Trail (not knowing it was <strong>the</strong> JMT) and<br />
thinking, “I’m really out of shape.”<br />
What was your first job in <strong>Yosemite</strong> During <strong>the</strong><br />
summer of 2006, I was a YA cooperative student intern<br />
in Wawona. I developed and led weekly ecology programs<br />
in <strong>the</strong> Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias, created and<br />
conducted a weekly natural his<strong>to</strong>ry program on mountain<br />
lions, and provided informational resources <strong>to</strong><br />
park visi<strong>to</strong>rs.<br />
What do you do now I have arguably <strong>the</strong> neatest job in<br />
<strong>the</strong> park. I work in <strong>the</strong> <strong>Yosemite</strong> Valley Wilderness Center<br />
issuing wilderness permits; when I’m not doing that, I’m<br />
patrolling <strong>Yosemite</strong>’s wilderness. I protect <strong>the</strong> park.<br />
What do you think is <strong>the</strong> most important thing we<br />
(<strong>the</strong> <strong>Yosemite</strong> community) can do <strong>to</strong> encourage <strong>to</strong>day’s<br />
culturally diverse population <strong>to</strong> become stewards of<br />
this place Get people here. Once people see <strong>the</strong> park,<br />
<strong>Yosemite</strong> very discreetly speaks for itself.<br />
What is your favorite place in <strong>Yosemite</strong> I love <strong>the</strong><br />
nor<strong>the</strong>rn part of <strong>the</strong> park because it’s very quiet and<br />
rugged.<br />
What is your favorite <strong>Yosemite</strong> book Hiking <strong>Yosemite</strong><br />
by Suzanne Swedo.<br />
What is your favorite non-<strong>Yosemite</strong> book The Dark<br />
Tower series by Stephen King. The Dark Tower books<br />
have a western horror and fantasy <strong>to</strong>uch <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong>m, which<br />
I enjoy.<br />
Who is your favorite his<strong>to</strong>rical figure Abraham<br />
Lincoln, because in 1864 he signed <strong>the</strong> bill presented by<br />
Congress that placed <strong>Yosemite</strong> Valley and <strong>the</strong> Mariposa<br />
Grove under <strong>the</strong> protection of <strong>the</strong> state of California.<br />
What do you think YA’s most important role is<br />
Education! If <strong>the</strong> public is informed of <strong>the</strong> resources<br />
available and how conservation is central <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong> park idea,<br />
America’s national parks will remain at <strong>the</strong> fingertips of<br />
all visi<strong>to</strong>rs for generations <strong>to</strong> come. America’s great idea<br />
must be conserved.<br />
What else do you want <strong>to</strong> tell our readers that I<br />
haven’t asked <strong>Yosemite</strong> belongs <strong>to</strong> us all, yet we know<br />
that it must remain a wilderness. The untrammeled<br />
nature of <strong>Yosemite</strong> is what makes it so special.<br />
YOSEMITE ASSOCIATION, SUMMER 2007<br />
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