J.D. Reyes served the length of his duty as a United States Forest Service ranger, from 1900 to 1931, in Santa Barbara National Forest, later renamed Los Padres several years after his retirement.
When his family first settled in the Upper Cuyama River Valley around 1854, they did so in what was at the time the County of Santa Barbara, as founded in 1850.
This area later fell within the bounds of Ventura County, as founded in 1873.
The following excerpts are sourced from, National Parks Service: A History of Mexican Americans in California; Cuyama Ranger District, Los Padres National Forest, Ventura County
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“Jacinto Damien Reyes (or J. D., as he was affectionately known) deserves public recognition for his outstanding contributions to forest management and conservation in Ventura County.
During his 32-year tenure as a forest ranger in the Cuyama District of the Los Padres National Forest, Reyes supervised firefighting units. . .
Despite the destruction caused by these fires, the ever-present danger of injury or death, the extreme heat, and the horrendous hours that usually extended into days. . .as well as the makeshift support facilities maintained for early firefighters, Reyes never lost a man from one of his units.
A ranger has to watch his men every minute to keep them from getting into trouble, and this is especially true when working with an inexperienced gang of fighters.
A sudden change of wind, a lowering barometer or the fire jumping from one kind of vegetation to another can change the whole complexion of a fire quicker than a Spaniard can say ‘Hasta la vista.’
If you do not watch your business, you can get all your men trapped in the fire as easily as starting a forest fire.
—J.D. Reyes
Reyes’ concern for his men was matched by his concern for the environment.
He was an early advocate of reforestation, a policy not officially adopted by the Forest Service until approximately 1910.
. . .
Accepted by the Forest Service in 1900 as a temporary employee, Reyes received a permanent appointment on October 4, 1900.
The following year, Reyes and other rangers in the area escorted President William McKinley through Ventura during a parade arranged in honor of the President.
In 1905, Reyes was again present at a parade held in honor of another president, Theodore Roosevelt, and rode through the streets of Santa Barbara on ‘the right side of the President’s carriage.’
. . .
Reyes, although apparently a good story-teller, was a self-effacing man who never boasted of the work he had done to open trails through the Cuyama District, . . .
Others, however, were quick to acknowledge the role he had played in making the Cuyama District more accessible to the public.
. . .for twenty years Thacher camping parties enjoyed J. D.’s hospitality and that the success of their trips was due to his fine work in keeping the mountain trails open. The Thacher boys often remarked that when they got into J. D.’s district, trails were well ditched and in good repair . . . and J. D.’s career . . . has been a great lesson to Thacher boys.
—Forest H. Cook, Headmaster of the Thacher School
What sets Reyes apart from his contemporaries and from those who followed him was that he was the only ranger in the U.S. Forest Service to work 30 years in one district, . . .
Reyes is an outstanding example of a Chicano humanist, environmentalist, and conservationist.”
Related Posts:
Gladiator Games of Bulls and Bears: Recollections of Jacinto Damien Reyes (1880s)
Jack Elliott's Santa Barbara Adventure 
A fine article. Of course, today the ICEholes would be invading his forest, masked + badges covered, to arrest and deport him. Of course, as a former Ranger myself, I’d put my money on him.
Cheers,
Ranger Don
For some reason I thought I should read the Bulls and Bears article, too. Didn’t get far. Absolutely shameful what those men did to Grizzlies. Bunch of bastards. No matter what the “prevailing attitude” of the time was, there was no excuse for such cruelty.
What a great story, thanks so much for sharing. He is an unsung hero, but now we sing his history with admiration.
Yeah, but he vandalized a Native American rock art site when he left those initials…
That is true.
And after the Antiquities Act of 1906 was passed, it might be worth noting.
Yet, if today somebody defaced the initials they might be called a vandal themselves and, perhaps, liable.
Today’s vandalism — carving one’s initials — is tomorrows protected bit of history. What’s done today may in 100 years be a treasured artifact.
See the initials carved into Manzana Schoolhouse or the pioneer/cowboy initials of 1873 carved into the ancient Anasazi cliff dwellings built sometime between 350 and 1300 A.D. in Canyon de Chelly:
From Graffiti to Graffito, Trash To Treasure
What are we to make of that?
On another point, in addition, J.D. Reyes came from a family that tormented and killed grizzly bears for sport and entertainment and in defense of their cattle and property.
As such it’s not unreasonable to think that, as a Spaniard that grew up in those times and in the Reyes family, J.D. shared the sentiment towards grizzlies, at least to some extent.
But, nevertheless, even if he did, he acted in other ways that were and are admirable and were at the time beneficial toward his fellow man and the common good.
In this manner, J.D. Reyes, I would say, is not untypical of most historical figures.
It’s difficult to find folks without flaws or whom did not on occasion act poorly as judged by today’s standards.
And it’s impossible to find folks who lived perfect lives.