Irvine Ranch Conservancy
  • Home
    • Landmarks Blog
  • What We Do
    • Programs >
      • Habitat Restoration and Enhancement
      • Wildfire Prevention
      • Community Engagement and Education
      • Invasive Species Control
      • Plant Materials
      • Monitoring and Research
      • Planning and Infrastructure
      • Volunteer Management
    • Where We Work
    • About Us >
      • Meet the Team
      • Our Partners
      • Careers
      • Contact Us
  • Volunteer
  • Donate

Rangers on the Open Range

4/4/2014

 
Picture
OC Parks Rangers working in the Irvine Ranch Open Space cover a lot of ground.

The Irvine Ranch Open Space is more than 20,000 acres of protected wildlands, and makes up one third of OC Parks’ entire countywide park facility acreage. And just like other park facilities, a staff of park rangers is assigned to help the people of Orange County enjoy this spectacular natural resource.

However, with nearly 100 miles of trails and areas of rugged, remote wilderness, a day in the life of an open space ranger is considerably different than a day in a more traditional park.

Terrain, habitat, wildlife and remoteness vary widely across the Irvine Ranch Open Space, which is composed of Black Star Canyon, Loma Ridge, and Fremont, Limestone and Weir Canyon nature preserves. Covering these expansive wilderness areas, which make up the biggest part of Orange County’s only National Natural Landmark, can present unique challenges for rangers.

One of these challenges is finding opportunities to interact with people on the land. In more traditional wilderness and regional parks, rangers can lead nature walks or campfire programs to engage visitors. In the Irvine Ranch Open Space, partners such as Irvine Ranch Conservancy lead hiking, mountain biking, equestrian and stewardship activities on behalf of OC Parks. This provides many opportunities for the public to enjoy the land, but leaves the open space rangers looking for chances to meet visitors. Rangers regularly check the activity schedule, and drop by while on patrol.

“While out checking trails in Limestone, I stopped by a stewardship activity at Dripping Springs,” said Park Ranger Nick Martinico. “This group was volunteering to re-plant habitat, but were interested in the animal tracks they found on the trail. We found some and I identified them to help educate the participants about the animals who frequent the area, and whose habitat they were restoring.”

Knowing about the plants and animals that make the Irvine Ranch Open Space home is part of the extensive training that every ranger receives. Rangers working at all OC Parks facilities have instruction in everything from natural history to emergency response. Irvine Open Space rangers also put their off-road vehicle training to good use, navigating along rugged, steep trails.

Regularly patrolling the land helps rangers assess the condition of facility infrastructure, including trails, which can sustain damage after rain and over time from general use. Since not everyone is aware of the protections in place for this area, rangers also help people understand the sensitivity and importance of the Irvine Ranch Open Space. Some protected areas are adjacent to daily-access areas such as Irvine Regional Park. Patrolling through adjacent regional parks gives rangers a chance to educate the public about their opportunities to participate in the many free, scheduled programs available to help them enjoy the open space.

See some of the many areas these park rangers patrol. Visit www.LetsGoOutside.org for more information on these activities and to register.

Comments are closed.

    About

    Welcome to the Irvine Ranch Conservancy "News from the Field" blog. These articles are written by Conservancy staff about activities and projects in and near the Irvine Ranch Natural Landmarks. 

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012

    Categories

    All
    Agua Chinon
    Baker Canyon
    Big Canyon
    Birds
    Black Star Canyon
    Bommer Canyon
    Buck Gully
    City Of Irvine
    City Of Newport Beach
    Crystal Cove
    Dripping Springs
    Equestrian
    Family Friendly
    Fire
    Fire Watch
    Fremont Canyon
    Grasslands
    Habitat Restoration
    Hicks Haul Road
    Hiking & Fitness
    Interpretive
    Invasive Plants
    Irvine Open Space Preserve
    Irvine Ranch Open Space
    Irvine Regional Park
    Laguna Coast
    Limestone Canyon
    Mesa Loop
    Mountain Biking
    Native Plant Nursery
    Native Plants
    Native Seed Farm
    Nighttime
    OC Parks
    OC Zoo
    O'Neill Regional Park
    Orchard Hills
    Peters Canyon Regional Park
    Quail Hill
    Red Rocks
    Round Canyon
    Safety
    San Joaquin
    Santiago Oaks Regional Park
    Stewardship
    The Sinks
    Tracking
    Trails
    Trail Work
    Upper Newport Bay
    Volunteers
    Weir Canyon
    Wilderness Access Day
    Wildflowers
    Wildlife

    RSS Feed

Irvine Ranch Conservancy  •  4727 Portola Pkwy. Irvine, CA 92620  •  714-508-4757  •  info@irconservancy.org

© 2016 Irvine Ranch Conservancy, All Rights Reserved.   Irvine Ranch Conservancy reserves all rights under copyright, including (without limitation) rights to photographs. No permission to copy or publish any portion of this web
site or any material posted on the website is granted without the express written permission of Irvine Ranch Conservancy. 
  • Home
    • Landmarks Blog
  • What We Do
    • Programs >
      • Habitat Restoration and Enhancement
      • Wildfire Prevention
      • Community Engagement and Education
      • Invasive Species Control
      • Plant Materials
      • Monitoring and Research
      • Planning and Infrastructure
      • Volunteer Management
    • Where We Work
    • About Us >
      • Meet the Team
      • Our Partners
      • Careers
      • Contact Us
  • Volunteer
  • Donate