CITY SMART / How to thrive in the urban environment of Southern California : ‘It’s the Best Job in the Park Service’

* Ian Williams

Age: 34

Job: Ranger in Channel Islands National Park.

Locale: San Miguel Island, about 25 miles south of Point Conception.

Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., often longer, for eight days in a two-week period. (Receives a five-day weekend every two weeks.)

Pay: About $34,000 a year.

What I do: “I’m the only permanent employee out there on San Miguel Island. I usually go on an airplane because of the distance from park headquarters.

“My work is largely leading hikes for people who visit the island. San Miguel Island is only open on a guided basis.

“I’m kind of a naturalist and historian on the island. I’m a federal law enforcement officer. I’m the island’s mechanic.”

Why I do it: “I grew up in Los Angeles and working for the national parks is my antidote to growing up in the city. I like living somewhere where you see the stars at night rather than street lights and where you’re more likely to hear sea lions barking than car alarms.

“It’s a glimpse of California as it might have been before people discovered it. The island is very open and wind-swept. The Channel Islands are kind of an American Galapagos. There’s an island fox here. It’s a distant relative of the mainland gray fox, but it’s much smaller, and it’s evolved into its own species. About 18 of the plants are plants that you’d only find here. One of the most fascinating plants is the giant coreopsis, that looks like something that Dr. Seuss would create. Most of the year it looks like just a dead brown plant, but with the winter rains, it sprouts a green broccoli-like foliage.

“I think it’s the best job in the Park Service.”