Red Rock Canyon welcomes new manager

Robbie McAboy grew up in the greenery of Alabama but says she’s now taken by the beauty of the desert.

McAboy is the new manager of the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area .

Born in Mississippi but raised in Alabama, McAboy spent most of her young life on the family’s 160-acre farm.

“I loved being outdoors, growing up on a farm,” she said. “I was captivated by the stars at night.”

McAboy was undecided about a career direction until her junior year of high school. That’s when she attended a career camp sponsored by the Natural Resources Conservation Service. The two-week camp in Florida introduced her to all types of careers dealing with conservation issues and managing wilderness areas.

The spark was lit. As a senior in high school, she studied natural resources in an apprenticeship program. She spent the summer in hands-on training of various disciplines, earning college credit. That led to a full scholarship offered through the forest service at Alabama A&M University.

She graduated cum laude in 1996 with a Bachelor of Science in Forest Science.

Before taking the Bureau of Land Management position in Nevada, she worked in Utah.

Andi Falsetto, public affairs specialist for the Custer and Gallatin National Forest in Montana, worked alongside McAboy for the Uinta National Forest in Utah. They put together a forest revision plan, which took nearly five years to complete.

“She was fun but professional,” Falsetto said of McAboy. “By fun, I don’t mean silly but enjoyable to be around. She knew how to get the work done and always turned in a top-quality product, done and on time.”

The 37-year-old McAboy regularly puts in 10-hour work days. She uses her free time to make her own forays into the wilderness. She’s a horseback rider, enjoys snowmobiles and is an avid hiker. She also likes riding ATVs, an activity that nature conservationists might find at odds with her job.

“I believe there’s an appropriate place for every activity,” she said. “When people cross those lines is when we have a problem.”

McAboy is doing three jobs under one title. Besides Red Rock Canyon, she also is in charge of the Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area and Walking Box Ranch.

She is heavy on prioritizing, constantly taking notes to keep abreast of things and relies on her “phenomenal” staff as she juggles the needs of the three operations.

“They go above and beyond every day,” she said. “I don’t have to micro manage.”

She is overseeing the addition of 44 miles of trails in Sloan Canyon and developing management plans for Walking Box Ranch. It will have tours of the ranch house, as well as its own visitor s center.

Lee Kirk, supervisor of outdoor recreational planning, called McAboy hardworking, approachable and someone with good people skills. He applauded her idea to implement open house meetings.

Red Rock Canyon hosts an open house from 2 to 7 p.m. the third Thursday of each month.

“It’s a way for more people to understand what we do,” he said.

McAboy credits coming up through the ranks — using a chain saw to clear sites as part of the fire crew and setting up camp sites — with giving her the perspective to do her job.

“I know what it’s like to be the low man on the totem pole and can appreciate what they do,” McAboy said.

She said when she travels east to see family, the humidity and bugs remind her of why she loves Nevada. And then there’s that eye phenomenon afflicting many a desert dweller.

“Everything now seems so much greener than when I was growing up,” she said.

Contact Summerlin and Summerlin South View reporter Jan Hogan at jhogan@viewnews.com or 387-2949.