Ben Teton is the newest staff member for the Tejon Ranch Conservancy, as a Wildlife Technician he will help gather data on wildlife populations throughout the ranch. We would like to introduce him to the TR Conservancy community by asking him a few questions.
Where are you from? What’s your background?
I am California grown. I was born in the Bay, moved to Santa
Barbara as a toddler, which is where I spent most of my formative years. After
high-school I figured I might as well go check out some big trees, good beer
and crappy weather, so I headed up to the Pacific Northwest where I
splish-splashed my way to an undergraduate degree from the University of Oregon.
From there I joined the Forest Service and began splitting my year between
chasing wildland fires in the summer months and travelling abroad during the
offseason. In 2012 I spent the off-season interning with the Leatherback Trust
on a remote stretch of coastline in North-Western Costa Rica, where I helped
take data on a population of nesting marine turtles. I returned from Central
America mostly feral and entirely resolved to commit myself to field biology
full-time. I signed up to intern with our local darling of endangered species
conservation here in So-Cal, the USFWS’ California Condor Recovery Program. Again
I found myself tracking down the eggs of animals who look like they escaped
from Jurassic Park, and again I loved every minute of it. From there I got a
job, again working with marine turtles, this time for the NPS out of North
Padre Island in South Texas. I Returned from Texas last fall and began the
enrollment process for UCSB’s Bren School and their Masters of Environmental
Science Management. It was my intention to make my triumphant (more or less)
return to academia this coming Fall, but having been spirited away by what I
can only describe as a dream opportunity for experience and on the job training
here and the Tejon Ranch Conservancy, I have chosen to forgo graduate school
until 2015. I am now the most recent addition to the Conservancy’s team, and as
Wildlife Technician I have been privileged with the task of surveying the great
mosaic of wilderness that compose the ranch. Beneath this interview I have included some photographs depicting my first impressions of this incredible place.
Word is that you’ve done a good deal of international
travel. Do you have any favorite destinations? How has your travel affected
your perspective on biological work?
It is difficult to pick favorites. For me, travel memories,
like junk food or old music (see below), are all about the mood I’m in when I
happen to stroll down memory lane, or into the fridge, or through the stash of
old mix-tapes I have strewn about my truck, whatever the case may be.
My perspective on biological work was entirely transformed
by my experience working with the Leatherback Trust in Costa Rica, in tandem
with my experience a year before, visiting a sloth-bear rehabilitation facility
outside of Agra, in Uttar Pradesh, India. In both cases small groups of motivated, impassioned
people, were working with extraordinarily few resources towards the
conservation of endangered wildlife. In both cases not only were they making a
real positive impact on the condition of the species of concern, but were doing
so in a way that incorporated those local community members most impacted or displaced
by the conservation efforts themselves. In Agra’s Bear Sanctuary I saw gypsy
families hand over their livelihood by relinquishing their captive “dancing” bears
to the facility in exchange for trade skills that they could use to support
themselves in a more ecologically sustainable way. In Guanacaste I met
life-long turtle poachers turned conservation biologists using their knowledge and
understanding of local wildlife to protect the very animals they used to
harvest. In this way I have come to appreciate the need for holistic
conservation strategies that include the interests of impacted communities and
invest in grassroots stewardship at the local level, in addition to the direct protection
of wilderness and wildlife species of concern.
Is there anything in particular on Tejon Ranch you are
excited to see?
Rain! Familiarizing myself with the ranch over the last few
weeks has left me with the impression that everybody is feeling pretty parched
out there. I believe I speak for the seed beds when I say that this year has
left something to be desired in the way of precipitation.
Please describe one amazing nature moment you had in 2013.
Last year around this time I was working for the Condor
Recovery Program out of Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge. I was hiking
out one late afternoon to do some remote nest observations when I crested the
ridge of a deep canyon to find no less than ten
condors flying in concert with one another at almost exactly eye level with me.
They were so close I could hear the wind rushing through their great wings. I
remember thinking they looked like severely sunburned old men, expertly
hang-gliding. They made three or four passes over me while I fumbled with
settings on my camera and tried not to stumble of a cliff in awe. To see even a
single condor riding thermals in that way is to witness a rare and uniquely
Californian expression of natural grace and wild freedom; to see such a
grouping (especially considering that for many years that number did not exist in the wild), and in that setting,
was an absolute all-timer for me.
We at the Conservancy are pretty big audiophiles. Can you
list 5 of your favorite albums?
In no particular order…
Taj Mahal - Recycling the
Blues (1972): Taj is my all-time favorite musician, he has been so prolific
over the years it is impossible to pick a favorite record. Recycling the blues
is an early example of his range and depth.
Talking Heads- Stop
Making Sense (1984): There are old home-movies of me at three years old dancing
around in my underpants to the original concert movie. What can I say, I’m a
David Byrne guy.
DJ Quik- Rhythm-al-ism
(1998): Smooth West Coast hip-hop from the golden-era. Reminds me of my
high-school days, pretending to be cool, chasing girls and getting into trouble.
Radiohead- In Rainbows
(2007): Seeing this played live was the greatest stage performance of any
kind I’ve ever seen. Also, this was the first major band to self-release a
record without a record label, offering a pay-what-you-want download direct
from the band’s website.
Valerie June- Pushin’
Against a Stone (2013): Favorite new artist and number one celebrity crush.
If you have never heard of her, she’s worth a google, truly amazing talent.
We like to talk about how Tejon Ranch is at the confluence
of 4 of Ca’s major ecoregions (southwestern Ca, SJV, Sierra Nevada, Mojave
Desert). Do you have a favorite one?
The Eastern Sierra is where I learned to love wild places and
so it will always hold a special place in my heart. A as a toddler, my folks threw
me in a backpack and hiked me into Tuolumne Meadows. I’ve been a sucker for the
woods ever since.
Besides Tejon Ranch, can you list 5 California locations you
love?
Tuolumne Meadows- Like I said, it’s where the dream began!
Henry’s Beach, Santa Barbara- I think it goes by a different
name now, I grew up down the street from this beach. I spent more time here
than at my house, it is the landscape of my childhood.
Big Caliente Hot Springs, Los Padres National Forest- Santa
Barbara’s local hot spring, beautiful and well maintained, minimal old naked men.
Heather Lake, Desolation Wilderness- Desolation gets crowded
in the summer, but in the between seasons and off the beaten path, it is absolutely
breathtaking.
Lost Coast, Mendocino/Humboldt county- The longest stretch
of undeveloped coast-line in the continental 48, may it stay that way forever!
As I am new to the Conservancy and new to the Ranch, I have
spent my first month or so immersing myself in the amazing diversity of plants,
animals and landscapes that the ranch has to offer. My camera was by my side
throughout this introductory period, and I would like to share with you all my
first impressions of the ranch through this brief photo montage. I hope you
enjoy!
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| Sunrise on Cordon Ridge. |
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| Deep beneath the cedars, masses of ladybugs dog-pile for warmth and wait out the winter. |
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Hundreds of turkey vultures migrate over the
Tehachapi’s from the Antelope Valley
|
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Love conquers all! Colony Collapse, habitat
decline, penetrating drought- against all odds, sparks still fly between these two
evolutionary soul-mates.
|
These Rocky Mountain elk look as stiff and groggy as I did on this foggy morning at Comanche Point.
Red Tailed Hawk taking flight across the Tejon Hills.
Not much variety on menu for this heifer at the mouth of Tejon Creek.
You never know what you might find in among the Joshuas
Tired mounts get a much needed feed after a day on the trail.
Horned lizard looking sporty in profile here on the slopes of the Blue Ridge.
Rudely awakened ravens are thrown about by the high
desert winds of Antelope Valley.
Moonrise over the bull pasture.
