Meet Ron Rappaport, Jackson District, Lower Gros Ventre
Ron has been an Ambassador enough years that he has lost count. “Summer 2025 will be the fifth or sixth year,” he says. Although he grew up in Brooklyn, NY, Ron fell in love with the outdoors the first time friends took him backpacking. That was in California’s San Jacinto Mountains.
“It was wet and snowy and I was freezing and I fell in love with it,” he says. He eventually moved to Big Bear Lake, CA and lived there for 35 years. He has also worked as an Idaho State park ranger at Ponderosa Park in McCall, managed campgrounds in Mammoth, CA, and worked for the National Park Service and California State Parks in the redwood forest near Crescent City.
Ron came to volunteer on the BTNF because “I saw a need for support,” he says. “I love the beauty and energy of the area and I want to help keep the BTNF the way it is, or even make it better.”
As an Ambassador he sees it as his job to help others learn how to take care of the forest. “I like educating people about how special the BTNF is; wildlife, and how to behave around it; and fire safety,” he says.
Fun Fact: Ron used to do comedy. “I was a disc jockey in college in the 70s and worked some major comedy clubs in L.A. I’d warm up the audience for comedians like John Candy, Robin Williams, and Jim Belushi, who were working the circuit back then.”