A veteran ranger in the National Park Service on Friday was named superintendent of Joshua Tree National Park, the world-famous rock-climbing mecca straddling Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

"I fell in love with the desert when I was at Grand Canyon," says Curt Sauer, who was named Friday as the new superintendent of Joshua Tree National Park.

Curt Sauer, 53, got the official title after spending 10 months as acting superintendent of the desert park known for its jumbled boulders. He replaces Ernie Quintana who recently became the agency's first Hispanic regional park director in Omaha, Neb.

"Curt has impressed me with his keen observation of desert issues over the past year," Jonathan Jarvis, the agency's regional director, said in a statement making the announcement.

Born in Alaska, Sauer's previous post was as chief ranger at Olympic National Park in Washington state. He has also been a ranger at Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona and Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado.

"I fell in love with the desert when I was at Grand Canyon," Sauer said in a telephone interview from Joshua Tree. "It's a different type of desert, but the wide-open spaces, scenic vistas and the feel of the desert is something I really appreciate."

He comes to Joshua Tree at a time when air pollution blowing in from the greater Los Angeles area is clouding views, and a proposed landfill that would be the nation's largest may sit less than two miles from the park's wilderness.

Known as the Eagle Mountain landfill, the abandoned iron-ore pit bought by Los Angeles County is awaiting the outcome of a federal lawsuit challenging environmental issues before it becomes operational.

"We remain concerned about the landfill's potential impacts to air quality and to our desert tortoise area," Sauer said. Garbage, he said, could attract more ravens that kill the young reptiles, a federally threatened species.

Donna Charpied, an organic jojoba farmer in Desert Center who has long fought the landfill, said Sauer has already impressed her by personally making the two-hour drive to visit with her and the landfill site.

"That made such an impression," she said. "He comes off as a person who loves his job and who's dedicated to it."

Howard Gross, with the National Parks Conservation Association, a watchdog group for the nation's parks, said Sauer will tackle the air pollution problems that, at certain times of the year, can cloud views and damage park resources.

"The park will be well served by him," Gross said. "I think he'll be able to find a balance between protecting the resources while encouraging visitor access."

Sauer said he's looking forward to being at the helm of the 792,000-acre park he hopes will become popular with more than just rock climbers and hikers.

"It's a park that's about to be discovered," he said. "With the growth that going to go on in the next 10 years, with people having shorter vacations, they are going to learn to appreciate what it has to offer."

Reach Jennifer Bowles at (909) 368-9548 or jbowles@pe.com