Being raised in a community where your history connects to every part of your present, it is difficult to find the courage to leave. It is similarly difficult to forge a path and stay. Questa del Rio News is committed to highlighting different members of our community, both those who have created their paths and planted their own roots in the community that raised them, and those who have pursued lives outside of the community—through our Representando series. This series is dedicated to those who are Representando communities in northern Taos County, in various facets of life.
“Step outside your door and go in some direction, any direction, and see where it’s going to take you.” These are words shared by Cerro native Ricardo León. León grew up on a small ranch and farm in the shadow of the Latir wilderness. Growing up, he spent his summers irrigating alfalfa fields and riding his bike throughout Cerro and the Sangre de Cristo mountains. As an adult, he meandered his way through several professions, seeking one that would speak to his passions and love for his northern New Mexico community.
León graduated from Questa High School in 2001 and shortly thereafter moved to Las Vegas, New Mexico where he attended New Mexico Highlands University, majoring in art studies. During those early college days, in order to make ends meet, he became a member of an Interagency Hotshot crew, performing some of the most demanding and hazardous tasks in wildland firefighting. This is when he got his first taste of natural resource management.
In the fall of 2006, León got married to the love of his life, Questa native Diane León, and they started a family, which led Ricardo to look for work close to home.
By 2006 he found himself working where most Questeños were working—the Questa Molycorp Mine. He started as an underground worker and then moved to the surface, working on milling equipment as a millwright. In 2008, he and many other workers were laid off.
León went on to find a temporary job with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). This position allowed him to drive every single route in the Rio Grande National Monument before it was designated as such. He recalls that Esther Garcia, the mayor of Questa at the time, was working with the BLM to find recreation opportunities in Questa. “Little did I know I was going to be able to lay out the Vistas trail, which was my first experience with recreation management.
His boss with the BLM encouraged him to earn a certificate as a civil engineering technician, a two-year program, which would eventually open opportunities for him to apply for a permanent job with the BLM. Although Ricardo was determined to make this happen, a hiring freeze for the job that he was hoping for slipped through his fingers.
Continuing to look for ways to provide for his family, Ricardo had one more temporary job with the BLM and a stint with Kit Carson, inventorying power lines, before he went back to work for the mine in 2010 until the final 2014 layoff and closure.
“I was heartbroken. The closing of the mine was one thing, but the thing that really crushed me was leaving the people that I was working with and losing the camaraderie and fellowship that I’ll never get back.”
After being invited to work for the mine contractors, León decided to try another path, returning to school at the UNM-Taos campus. While he was considering pursuing some Solar Panel technician training there, he learned from a UNM counselor who noted that he was just one class shy of an associates degree in pre-science! “I walked into her office thinking I was going to be a solar technician, and 15 minutes later, I walked out of there having changed my degree to forestry.”
León needed to get an internship as part of the program. After hitting some roadblocks he was soon offered a job as a multi-resource technician with the Forest Service in Questa. “I was riding a horse all summer, monitoring range conditions. During the winter I was the snow ranger.” León chuckles, recalling conversations with his mom about his desire to be a professional snowboarder when he grew up and her telling him that was highly unlikely.
It was 2017 and his boss encouraged him to earn his forestry degree because he saw potential for bigger and better endeavors. León agreed and pursued that degree, which opened up lots of doors, not only for jobs in forestry but also in recreation management—which is what Ricardo finally settled into. Currently, he is the recreation and lands staff for the U.S. Forest Service for the Questa Ranger District. He helps people with getting access to their private land through Forest Service lands, helps people to make a living through outfitting and guiding, and manages recreation sites.
León recalls how his upbringing has shaped his career path. The land that has always provided for him and his family now provides a career for him. “Locals have a very strong connection with the resources around us and we use them all the time. We go for wood and end up having the best bologna sandwich you’ll ever have on the top of a mountain. You go looking for piñon and you have the best conversation you had in a while with your family. Our ‘recreation’ is disguised as work,” he says.
Ricardo remembers watching his parents over the years, irrigating their fields and taking care of their animals. This had a direct effect on his chosen path and career interest. He describes his family—wife Diane of 18 years, 17-year-old daughter Alyana, and 16-year-old son Ricardo as his biggest motivators.
Although initial attempts at obtaining a degree in art didn’t result in a degree, art still remains one of his passions. Busy wearing many hats, he still makes time to create art in his spare time. One thing is for sure, Ricardo kept heading in a direction even while hitting roadblocks. He leaves our readers with these words, “You do not fail, you either succeed or you learn. Keep trying new things until you find something that drives you.”
