ABOUT JIM
 Jim participated in the bicentennial celebration of the Applegate Immigrant Trail |
Jim and Hanna on the famous Applegate Immigrant Trail in Surprise Valley, September 1996. |
|
Jim has had 12 years experience with BLM in Cedarville, including taking out horseback groups. He was the first BLM Mounted Ranger (Law Enforcement) and worked this area for the last 12 years, riding thousands of miles on horse and mule back. |
Jim, his mule, and his dog at work for the BLM. His shirt says MOUNTED PATROL. |
| A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF JIM by Jean Bilodeaux, June 2005 |
|
For twelve years Bureau of Land Management Law Enforcement Ranger Jim Massey patrolled the rugged and seemingly desolate lands of northwestern Nevada. From on top of a mule he learned to enjoy and appreciate the canyons, creeks and grandeur of more than a million acres.
During his patrols he got used to seeing deer, antelope, coyotes, herds of wild mustangs and an occasional mountain lion or big horn sheep. Bald and golden eagles, hawks, falcons and other birds soared overhead as he rode.
While searching for lost travelers or performing other duties, he learned the land, the hidden places, the caves, petroglyphs and watering holes. He came to be able to identify the different herds of wild horses that called this land home. Among these herds were the Carter Reservoir mustangs, whose predominate colors are buckskin and dun with dark stripes on their legs and a prominent dorsal stripe. Thought to be descendants of the Spanish barbs, a special mustang registry has been created to monitor the accomplishments of those that have been adopted by the public.
At times he would guide volunteer workers, such as the local chapter of the Back Country Horsemen and the Christian Horsemen and Packers of Santa Clarita to places where work needed to be done. In his spare time he took friends on rides through this vast land.
"I remember some Back Country Horsemen saying that I ought to do guide trips when I retired," laughs Massey, thinking at the time that retirement was a long way off.
Then eventually came the time to retire. But the high desert had its grip on this former Everglade cop and it wasn't about to let him go. The land he rode for the BLM still had an unexplainable lure for him, even in retirement.
"In my spare time I still ride out there, I have fun, see beautiful scenery and lots of wildlife. Then I got to thinking, why not share this experience with others?" said Massey.
He applied for and became the first licensed guide in northern Washoe County.
"I find it's a pleasure to watch people see things like mule deer, antelope or wild mustangs for the first time," said Massey.
Massey's guide service, "Riders of the Sage," provides access to trails that people in ATVs can't get to. He cannot do overnight camps because of insurance. People must provide their own mules or horses. Although he does not provide food or lodging, he will furnish clients with a list of local businesses that will provide these services.
For $100 per day per person he will guide riders through a land that has changed very little since pioneer times. They will ride the same trails as the early settlers traveling through the area on covered wagons, find old homesteads and tell their history. Wild mustang herds, remnants of Basque sheepherder camps, wildflowers, raptors, petroglyphs and other surprises await the riders.
Correspondent Jean Bilodeaux covers Surprise Valley. She can be reached at (530) 279-2031, or at P.O. Box 5, Cedarville, CA 96104, or by sending an e-mail to jeanb@hdo.net .
|
 Jim is a Life Member of the Single Action Shooting Society, since 1995 |
At the Single Action Shooting Society event in Fall River Mills, June 10-12,2005, in period cowboy costume, out of a field of 60, Jim won first prize in small-target Silhouette with his Model 1866 Winchester Lever Action repro and 3rd Prize in the Classic Cowboy competition. His First Prize was remarkable because he hadn't shot his Winchester in 6 months. Jim remarked, "Accurate rifle!" His parents were both crack rifle shots and taught him from the age of 8 or 9. |
From his senior year in high school through college he was the lead singer for a rock and roll band which became popular throughout the Southeast in the mid-60s. After 3 months of competing in the Battle of the Bands, the group was barred, because they ALWAYS won! They even opened for big-timers the Allman Brothers, and Blood Sweat and Tears no less. Jim himself sang with Jerry Jeff Walker in Key West. Later in 1972 Jim took up the guitar. Recently in Alturas Jim felt honored to be asked, repeatedly, to open the proceedings at the Cowboy Poetry Annual gathering. | 
Jim's out-of-the-saddle talents come to the fore in the evenings. |
| BLM'S MASSEY RETIRING AFTER 30 YEARS IN LAW ENFORCEMENT from a Cal Bureau of Land Management News Release, Nov. 24, 2004: |
|
Massey came to the BLM's Cedarville office in October of 1993 and embraced the opportunity to become the "Lone Ranger" for nearly a million and a half acres of rugged high desert public lands in northeast California and northwest Nevada. ...
"I have always been a cowboy at heart, and coming to Cedarville was like coming home for me," Massey said. "When I crossed Cedar Pass and came into the Surprise Valley for the first time, I knew immediately that this was where I belong."
Massey grew up around horses and ranching. His mother raised Tennessee walkers at their home near Marietta, Georgia, and from the time he was a teenager he spent as much time as possible out west on his aunt's ranch near Fort Jones in Siskiyou County.
"The highlight of all these years really has been the opportunity to work in this last frontier," he added. "These have been the best days of my career."
|
 Jim tracking mustangs |
Jim monitoring wild mustangs for the BLM before his retirement. |