MEET OUR 2017 WILDERNESS RANGERS...

Rhett Spencer Carson National Forest	Josh Parken Carson National Forest	Jade McLaughlin Cibola National Forest	Hailey Henck Cibola National Forest	Luciano Naranjo Santa Fe National Forest	Zack Bumgarner Santa Fe National Forest

WHAT THEY DO

From May 1st through September 30th, 2017, six new Wilderness Rangers will be afoot across nine wilderness areas on the Cibola, Santa Fe and Carson National Forests through a public-private partnership between the Forest Service and New Mexico Wild. Ranger pairs will be working in the Sandia Mountain, Manzano Mountains, Apache Kid and Withington wilderness areas on the Cibola National Forest; the Chama River Canyon and San Pedro Parks wilderness areas on the Santa Fe National Forest; and the Wheeler Peak, Columbine-Hondo and Latir Peak wilderness areas on the Carson National Forest.

This partnership is designed to increase stewardship in wilderness areas across northern New Mexico. Rangers will be providing a range of important services including wilderness character monitoring, trails assessment, trail clearing, campsite rehabilitation, public outreach and wilderness education. Their work provides valuable information on current wilderness conditions while enhancing public safety and contributing to positive wilderness experiences for wilderness visitors.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Volunteer engagement is an integral aspect of this partnership. Providing the public opportunities to be involved helps leverage scarce public dollars, helps address the backlog of maintenance and improvement needs and instills a sense of pride and stewardship for New Mexico’s wilderness areas. Most volunteer projects will focus on monitoring visitor use (see “solitude monitoring” section below), but could also include campsite and trail rehabilitation, signage, trash clean-up and other types of monitoring efforts.

If you would like to volunteer in one of the wilderness areas listed above, please use the information below to contact the rangers working in that wilderness. And, if you see these rangers on the trail, please take a moment to say HELLO!

SOLITUDE MONITORING

Do you like to hike in wilderness and want to give something back? Sign up to help the Cibola, Santa Fe and Carson National Forests conduct wilderness solitude monitoring! We are looking for avid hikers and wilderness lovers to count wilderness encounters across several wilderness areas in northern New Mexico. This fun and easy volunteer project can be done without supervision (after a ½ day of training) in pairs or as a group. This summer, monitoring will take place in the Sandia Mountain, Manzano Mountain, Apache Kid, Withington, Chama River Canyon, Columbine-Hondo, Latir Peak and Wheeler Peak Wilderness areas. Contact the individual rangers assigned to each wilderness area for more information or to sign up!

HIKE WITH A RANGER

Ever wonder what a day in the life of a wilderness ranger is like? Find out by joining our rangers for a day in the field. You'll learn backcountry travel skills, wilderness data collection basics, how to make effective and positive public contacts and more all while spending a fun day with great people in a beautiful place. Contact a ranger in your area of interest to learn more and schedule a day on the trail.

CONTACT THE RANGERS 

CARSON NATIONAL FOREST
Wheeler Peak Wilderness*, Columbine-Hondo Wilderness*, Latir Peak Wilderness*, Cruces Basin Wilderness, Pecos Wilderness (north side)
Rhett Spencer, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Josh Parken, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

SANTA FE NATIONAL FOREST
San Pedro Parks Wilderness*, Chama River Canyon Wilderness*, Pecos Wilderness (south side)
Zack Bumgarner, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Luciano Naranjo, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

CIBOLA NATIONAL FOREST
Sandia Mountain Wilderness*, Manzano Mountains Wilderness*, Apache Kid Wilderness*, Withington Wilderness*
Hailey Henck, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Jade McLaughlin, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

* Wilderness areas with an asterisk are the main areas the rangers are slated to work this season and most likely to have volunteer opportunities available