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Advisory committee urges council to prioritize park ranger after overgrazing kills dozens of manzanitas
Summary
The Rockville Hills Citizens Advisory Committee told the council the park has suffered oversight gaps — including 115 dead manzanita trees attributed to overgrazing — and asked the city to prioritize hiring a park ranger and restarting a volunteer program.
The Rockville Hills Citizens Advisory Committee told the Fairfield City Council that the park is deteriorating without daily ranger oversight and asked the city to prioritize hiring a park ranger so volunteers and maintenance can resume.
Jared Preston, chair of the Rockville Hills Citizens Advisory Committee, said the committee considers a dedicated park ranger "a capstone species for our park ecosystem" and urged the council to expedite the hire. Nick Glazier, cochair, presented examples of damage from the grazing season and said he documented 115 dead manzanitas whose trunks had been stripped of bark, which he attributed to goats left too long in particular park areas.
"It has now been over 2 and a half years without a ranger, and as a result, every single one of those services have been compromised," Preston said, describing the ranger as essential for enforcing regulations, wildfire mitigation, outreach and volunteer coordination.
City Manager David Gassaway told the council the previous ranger was on long‑term workers' compensation and that the position is a one‑of‑one classification; the city has pursued a county contract with Solano County but has not yet received a proposal. He said Human Resources will audit and refresh the job classification and the city hopes to recruit the position in the coming weeks while continuing to seek county or private‑sector contract options as interim or redundant coverage.
Councilmembers and RCAC members discussed controlled burns, grazing practices and restoration options; staff said grazing patterns were reassigned this season and that the city and Cal Fire coordinate mitigation work, including burn piles and fuel-reduction efforts. RCAC asked to return with six‑month updates and volunteered to expand interim roles so citizens could support the park while staffing is restored.
The council expressed support for the RCAC's requests and the city manager committed to continued oversight and to bringing a recruitment plan to the RCAC and council.
