Policy Shapers: Ramiro Villalvazo, ASLA
Nancy McLean, ASLA, interviews Ramiro Villalvazo, ASLA, about his work and outlook serving as Chief Landscape Architect for the Forest Service and more. This interview is dedicated to the memory of Ramiro Villalvazo Garcia (1926 - 2007), father of Ramiro Villalvazo Jr.

Why did you become a landscape architect?

My father owned a restaurant and thought his son should inherit the business. Though I was doing well while studying business courses in college, I felt unfulfilled. I felt like I was not really aiming at any desired lifelong career goal. I had entertained thoughts of studying architecture, but could not come to grips with the idea of adding more buildings to our world. An aptitude test showed my potential as a forester, veterinarian, agricultural engineer, or “landscape architect.” What was that occupation? A profession I had not realized existed. The disjointed pieces of my studies suddenly had a purpose, and I was suddenly planning to attend a university to become a landscape architect.

My family immigrated to the United States from Mexico, and my making this choice was different and difficult for all of us. I would be the first in our family ever to attend a university in the United States. Although he really did not understand what a landscape architect was, my father gave his full support. I entered the landscape architecture program at Cal Poly Pomona, and became a co-op student in the federal government after my sophomore year, graduating in 1982.

In addition to my federal job, I also worked for various firms to prepare for the California licensure exam in 1987.

How has your career in landscape architecture developed from your start in the federal government? Where has your work taken you?

My recent promotion as Forest Supervisor of the Eldorado National Forest acknowledges 25 years of preparation, development, and experience collected as a landscape architect.

Within the federal government staffing system, I rose through GS levels 5, 7, and 9, first as a landscape architecture trainee, then as an assistant forest landscape architect, then several years as a forest landscape architect, with work in Puerto Rico’s beautiful Caribbean National Forest. The botanical diversity in that rain forest was amazing, and the work was especially rewarding because it involved planning for and managing a very sensitive ecosystem. I also held forest landscape architect positions for forests in Florida and on the [Los?] Angeles National Forest in Southern California.

 My next career move was quite a change: I was selected to serve as the chief landscape architect for the Forest Service. I went from being a planner/designer on a single national forest to being nationally responsible for several programs, including scenery management and image for the Forest Service’s built environment. I became the advocate for landscape architects and the valuable work we do for the Forest Service. During my third week in Washington, D.C., 9/11 occurred. As we know, that event changed the world we live in, but it also served to help me bond with my friends and colleagues for the next five years.

Where do you find inspiration for your work?

Taken from impressions and experiences in sixth grade camp and from childhood visits to my father’s hometown in Jalisco, Mexico, my interest in working with nature found its foundation. Green valleys, mountains, corn and sugar cane fields, and natural open space influenced my senses early. My faith and belief in God also provides an important sense of responsibility about taking care of what has been entrusted to us. My training and career have allowed me to promote and facilitate the development of tools and resources for other landscape architects and to apply my knowledge to outdoor recreation planning of projects ranging from campgrounds, picnic areas, and trail heads to the management of scenic corridors and development of fully accessible visitor facilities. I have worked in program management at Forest Service headquarters reviewing national policy and working with our legislative affairs staff considering possible future laws in support of forest values and social benefits.

Much of what I do even today as a forest supervisor finds its foundation in understanding what the land and natural resources can sustainably provide. Much like what we learned from Ian McHarg, but now using GIS mapping, it’s about considering data overlays to analyze, synthesize, and make decisions. Our decisions must also include economic and social considerations that provide health, benefits, and welfare to people. The variety of opportunities and sources of inspiration I have found in public practice is amazing.

What is the scope of your work, and how do you believe that landscape architects can increase their work in sustainability issues?

As forest supervisor, I manage 700,000 acres and have a staff of more than 300 people. I work within various programs, policy, and administrative authorities to protect, manage, and sustainably utilize natural resources. Protection of water and vast watersheds is a vital part of this responsibility. Effective conservation practices are the cornerstone of sustainable forest management.

Sustainability incorporates not only environmental and economic benefits but also social benefits. Especially where forests are in close proximity to urban centers, I see it as our responsibility to encourage public use and contribute to the environmental education of our future generations.

If the USDA Forest Service is to remain a relevant agency for the next 100 years (2005 was our centennial anniversary), the agency needs to be made up of people as diverse as the public it serves. I aspire to bring a fresh perspective about community health and the benefits of being in the forest. The Forest Service can provide incredible environmental education. Carrying the information about the environment to communities, and not just waiting for the public to come to the forest, can create a sense of sharing in the care of our natural resources.

What is the most rewarding aspect of your work in the public sector?

Today it’s the variety. No two days are the same. For example, one day I may be briefed on NEPA documentation for fuels reduction and vegetation management projects, or for hydropower and energy grid distribution line placement. Another day I may be reviewing recreation management proposals for road and trail use, ski area expansion, or recreation facility master plans. At a memorable meeting with an aide to Congresswoman Matsui, I presented the connection between the importance of protecting watersheds by reducing the threat of catastrophic fires and the threat of flooding in Sacramento. Fires are often followed by flooding, which introduces thousands of tons of silt and debris to water impoundments, which in turn reduces their water holding capacity and leads to flooding. We also talked about a project we are developing to use biomass from fuels reduction projects to supply cogeneration plants as a sustainable source of energy.

I also consider that part of our work is to educate the public about how to protect themselves and their property against fire by practicing fuels reduction and fire-wise planning around their homes. When I toured the area that recently burned near South Lake Tahoe, it was obvious that these practices contributed to homes being saved. Controversy is a common theme in public land management when issues such as treatments for overgrown national forests include the option to cut large trees. That discussion would require much more time.

How would you encourage other landscape architects to find links to create change in the public realm?

Imagine that our profession can relate and contribute at any scale: garden, neighborhood, city, district, state, or thousands of acres of public land. Public service as a landscape architect encompasses and serves all sectors of society. Many landscape architects, including those working for the Forest Service, have found a great sense of accomplishment in recognizing that what we do does matter. Simply put, we are the ones who help provide the nexus between land, nature, and people.

Over the past few years, the Public Practice Committee has programmed forums at the ASLA Annual Meeting, not only to demonstrate the quality and variety of public realm projects, but also to provide detailed links for professional practitioners for some of the most complex projects and concerns that face landscape architects today.

[Note: The session in Ft. Lauderdale focused on waterfront development; the session in Minneapolis focused on light rail transit design and land use implications; and the session Friday, October 5, 2007, will focus on Wildfire and Flood: Disaster Preparedness, Mitigation, and Design and include the newly appointed California State Fire Marshall, Chief Kate Dargan, and Forest Service, CALTRANS, and disaster preparedness experts.]

How do you see the future of landscape architecture in public practice?

I see the benefits of diversity in the ranks of landscape architects in public practice, the opportunity to represent all aspects of the population we serve. I’ve been able to use my background, training, and language skills to serve in several countries including Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Jamaica, and Honduras, representing the Forest Service.

We are so blessed to have such bountiful and vast natural resources in our country. I find great personal and professional rewards in managing for a sustainable national forest, not only for environmental and economic values, but also for the health, benefit, and welfare of society, which is, after all, the reason national forests were created in the first place.