UC People: Juyung Yoo, preservationist
Share This Article
By Harrison Tasoff, UC Santa Barbara
It was the perfect spot. An ideal place to escape the hustle of Los Angeles. It had a creek, forests, a meadow. They could make some fishing ponds, build a few cabins, and pass their summers in the Eastern Sierra. Yes, it would do nicely.
There was no way for these Southern Californian businessmen to know that their camp in the mountains would eventually become a Natural Reserve, upholding a mission of education, research and environmental preservation. Or that over 100 years later, these same summer cabins would host students, scientists and environmental stewards, enabling others to discover the wonder of the Eastern Sierra for themselves.
The forested property at the base of Mammoth Mountain has enchanted many since its first cabin was built more than 100 years ago. And now, as part of the UC Natural Reserve System, the site sees hundreds of guests each year, from school children to researchers and tenured professors.
It’s safe to say those cabins have had their fair share of visitors. To ensure that Valentine Camp can serve the needs of those who visit well into the future, the reserve team has begun to restore and upgrade the property’s historic cabins. Central to those efforts is Valentine Reserve Manager Juyung Yoo. He has a unique perspective on the location, having come to the site many times, and in many different roles.
Guided by a love for nature
The UC Natural Reserve System (NRS) changed the trajectory of Yoo’s life. “Growing up, I didn’t even know that field science was a thing,” he recalled. The Younger Lagoon Natural Reserve, in Santa Cruz, and Valentine Camp Natural Reserve offered him his first foray into ecology as a third-year student, and he was hooked, he said. “I knew instantly that, after I graduated, I wanted to come back to the reserve system out here.”
Yoo returned to Valentine after earning his degree in evolution and ecology from UC Santa Cruz. For three summers, he worked on aquatic restoration and frog conservation in the High Sierra, coming back home to the reserve between assignments.
In 2024, he served as an assistant for the UC NRS-run California Ecology and Conservation course, guiding a cohort of 24 students on an 80-day experience at four UC Reserves. He saw his students experience the same growth as he had when he visited as an undergrad. “These natural reserves provide a place where their curiosity can flourish,” Yoo said.
When he spotted an opening for a caretaker at Valentine in 2024, Yoo jumped on the opportunity to give back to a place that had given so much to him. “My experience at Valentine Camp opened my eyes to the amount of work needed to keep these reserves up and running.
“These are historic cabins built in a time when Mammoth was first being developed, yet, here we are, using them to this day,” Yoo said. “Each one has its own unique personality and unique quirks.”