Date & Time
Wednesday, April 27, 2022
7:30 pm
Via ZOOM – Meeting ID: 822 2856 1684 Passcode: 853305 – Meeting Link
Santa Barbara District Ranger Daryl Hodges will provide an update on projects occurring within the Los Padres National Forest, including projects concerning natural resources, habitat, and recreation. Los Padres National Forest is one of the larger national forests in the continental United States, spanning nearly 3,000 square miles and stretching from Monterey County in the north to Ventura County in the south, with significant amounts of Santa Barbara County part of the forest. From front country trails behind Santa Barbara to backcountry locations in and accessed via the Santa Ynez Valley, the Santa Barbara District covers a diverse range of habitats. The district supports several rare and protected species, including California Spotted Owl, Golden and Bald Eagles, and also the historic range of the California Condor. Major current projects include aquatic organism passage improvements, post-fire management, and ongoing maintenance projects.
Daryl Hodges is the current District Ranger for the Santa Barbara Ranger District, Los Padres National Forest. Before arriving as the District Ranger for the Santa Barbara Ranger District. he was the Forest Fisheries Biologist on the Angeles National Forest in Region 5 since 2018. His responsibilities on the forest consisted of management and conservation of various fish and amphibian species that are threatened and endangered consisting of Santa Ana suckers, unarmored three spine stickleback, and mountain yellow legged frogs just to name a few. He was engaged with our partners and volunteers that assist with various aquatic programs. He was very active in our fire program as a lead and fireline resource advisor.
Ranger Hodges started his career with the Forest Service in 1994 in Region 6 on the Gifford Pinchot National Forest as a Biological Technician/Stream Surveyor. He converted to a Fish Biologist on the Gifford Pinchot National Forest and then accepted a position as the Monument Fish Biologist at Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument where he planned and administered stream habitat enhancement projects for steelhead and bull trout. He spent 10 years in the beautiful states of Washington and Oregon, before moving to the Southern Region, R8 – National Forest in Florida.
While in Florida Ranger Hidges spent 5 years on the Apalachicola National Forest as a Zone Natural Resource Biologist covering the Apalachicola and Wakulla Ranger Districts working with Red-cockaded woodpecker, Flatwoods salamander, and Striped newt habitat where he participated in a very active prescribed fire program centered around longleaf pine coastal plain habitat. After my tenure on the Apalachicola National Forest he took a position on the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest as a Wildlife Biologist and worked for 5 years in longleaf pine habitat essential to Red-cockaded woodpeckers in the Hitchiti Experimental Forest.
He returned to Region 5 and accepted a position on the Plumas National Forest as their Forest Fisheries Biologist for 4 years. Some of his duties consisted of drafting biological assessments for timber projects within habitat for Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog, Foothill yellow-legged frog, California red-legged frog along with other terrestrial species. An emphasis was working on limiting the spread of invasive aquatic species and habitat inventory surveys. He also worked on a partnership with USGS developing a new stream survey protocol to be used on the forest.
Ranger Hodges recently completed an Acting District Ranger detail in R3 on the Lincoln National Forest, Guadalupe Ranger District where it consists of expansive cave systems, range, and desert environments. One of the jewels of the Guadalupe Ranger District is Sitting Bull Falls, a developed recreation site, which is an oasis that springs out from the desert that is highly visited.
He is married to wife Gwen of 21 years and has four children.
Presentation will be via Zoom
Meeting ID: 822 2856 1684
Passcode: 853305
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