MOTHER LODE TRAILS
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Volunteer
  • Links
    • Law Enforcement Emergency
    • Federal, State, County Districts Parks & Trails
    • Running Clubs
    • Equestrian Clubs
    • Mt. Bike Clubs
    • Hiking Clubs
    • Trail Advocacy Organizations
    • Phone Numbers State & Federal Parks, Trails & Lands
    • Lost & Found on the Trails
    • Where to Eat on the Trails
  • News
  • Alerts

Ranger veteran Scott Liske retiring from Auburn State Recreation Area

4/23/2018

 
Picture
Retirement for Auburn State Recreation Area supervising ranger Scott Liske means an opportunity for something new to him but not necessarily to too many other people.
“I’ve earned a summer vacation — finally,” Liske said.
For 15 years as a State Parks ranger in the 35,000-acre recreation area, Liske has patrolled canyon areas above the north and middle forks of the American River that are both scenic and dangerous. Timing of shifts is dictated when the most people will be in the park.
“The last 4th of July I had off was in 1985,” Liske said. “Part of being a ranger is working holidays and weekends. When most of society is off, I’m working.”
So this coming summer and retirement will mean Liske will have time for experiencing what others were experiencing while he was working as a ranger. That means the freedom to travel inside the U.S. and overseas, he said. April 30 will be his last patrol day.
Now 56, Liske started his career with the state in 1985 as a Cal Fire seasonal firefighter. During the summer fire season, Liske was stationed near Angel’s Camp off Highway 49, working there for seven fire seasons. Coincidentally, the last two digits of his badge number are “49” and he’s been working out of the State Parks office on Highway 49 at Auburn since 2003.
Liske was on the groundbreaking Morris Fire near Monterey that burned several homes along 17-Mile Drive. That fire changed Cal Fire actions during fires toward protecting structures as well as lives.
Moving over to serve a four-year stint as a state correctional officer at maximum security Folsom Penitentiary, Liske was planning to continue with Cal Fire, after hiring resumed.
But with an opportunity for State Parks ranger training opening up, Liske again moved over to a different state job in 1997. His first assignment was at Folsom Lake Recreation Area and a transfer to Auburn came in 2003.
The recreation area’s tragedies, quirky stories and political donneybrooks over building an Auburn dam would be chronicled in 2005 by former recreation area ranger Jordan Fisher Smith in the book “Nature Noir.”
Liske said he is asked on occasion about when he’ll write his book about park experiences.
“I could,” Liske said. “There a lot here that could be put into one.”
Some of the oddest tales in Fisher Smith’s book dealt with the 730-foot-high Foresthill Bridge — the highest bridge in California and fourth highest in the nation. Liske estimates that he’s been called to 19 fatal leaps off the bridge, including one afternoon when a man jumped and then — about an hour later — a woman who had no knowledge of the first jump made a second fatal plunge off the span.
“And there have been countless drownings and fatalities,” Liske said. “It’s an unfortunate part of the Auburn State Recreation Area.”
Liske said he has gained particular enjoyment during the times when he has led walks like last new year’s day’s First Day tour of the confluence area that brought out 100 people.
Above and beyond his normal duties, Liske said he’s proud of accomplishments like adding enclosed kiosk buildings at four locations in the park — Mammoth Bar, Upper Lake Clementine, Lower Lake Clementine and the confluence — that increase employee comfort and provide better security for visitors.
Liske also led an effort to identify all gated entrances to the park along Foresthill Road with numbers. That not only has made it easier for emergency personnel to be dispatched by provides a simple meeting location for trail hikes and other activities.
The future of the park is in good hands with Superintendent Mike Howard, a former river guide, understanding its function as a river-oriented facility, Liske said.
But State Parks and government officials should be cognizant of the rapid growth in park user numbers that Liske said can be attributed to social media spreading the word. That means keeping hiring up and equipment upgraded, he said.
“Up until 10 years ago, the recreation area was off the radar for most people,” Liske said. “People took selfies next to an incredible river scene or sunset and that changed things.”                  Photo credit: Auburn State Recreation Area

CLICK HERE to see the original article and photos in the Auburn Journal.



Comments are closed.

    Trail News

    Visit this page for all of the latest Trail News that affects our area.

    Archives

    January 2023
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    January 2022
    November 2021
    October 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
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    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

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Home
Contact
 Mother Lode Trails is YOUR local volunteer-run trail information and resource website. Here you can find
up-to-the minute information on trail alerts, links and trail news for Placer,  Yuba, and Nevada counties.
Mother Lode Trails is trademarked.