MOJAVE AMBASSADOR : PARK EXECUTIVE WANTS TO SHARE DESERT VISION.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Daily News Staff Writer

As a child, Kathleen Franklin was always the kid on the block who wouldn't let the others shoot BB guns at birds.

And her love for the desert bloomed early as she traveled around with her Air Force family to places like Texas and Turkey.

``I loved the desert skies, the incredible buttes, the wide open spaces and views and vistas,'' Franklin said. ``For me, it's very fond memories for me as a child.''

Now, as the new Mojave Desert sector superintendent for California's state parks department, Franklin sees her role as ambassador for the desert and its beauty.

``I want to help people see the beauty that is all around them,'' said Franklin, 45, who assumed her new post last month after a 19-year career in the state parks system.

Franklin started out as a ranger and is now one of four women among the two dozen superintendents in the state.

She was promoted from the superintendent position at San Joaquin District's south sector, which is smaller than the Mojave district and includes Fort Tejon State Historic Park, Col. Allensworth State Historic Park and Tule Elk State Reserve.

In Lancaster, Franklin replaces Vic Maris, who left to take a state parks job in Sacramento.

Some of Franklin's first projects include moving the state parks office to another location in Lancaster and creating a visitors center to provide information on the Mojave Desert.

The state parks' local headquarters, now located in a small office in a complex near 10th Street West and Avenue M, will be moved in mid-December to the Mervyn's shopping center on 15th Street West between Avenues J and K, Franklin said.

The empty storefront will provide more space for the planned visitors center, a joint effort by Edwards Air Force Base, the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management.

``It is because of the (1994) Desert Protection Act that this came into being,'' Franklin said. ``The whole concept is to manage the desert as a total, whole environment, rather than parts of it.''

The center, which is scheduled to open in January, will provide more comprehensive information on things to see and do in the desert and different programs and tours that are offered.

Franklin also will continue efforts to catalog the vast collection of American Indian artifacts at the Antelope Valley Indian Museum. The collection includes baskets, projectile points and other materials from throughout the Southwest.

As superintendent, Franklin will oversee seven park sites, including the newly expanded 28,000-acre Red Rock Canyon State Park, north of Mojave; the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve and Ripley Desert Woodland, west of Lancaster; the Antelope Valley Indian Museum and Saddleback Butte State Park, north of Lake Los Angeles; the Tomo-kahni Native American village site east of Tehachapi; and Providence Mountains and Mitchell Caverns near Needles.

Franklin is living in one of the park properties: a small house called the Bluebird Cottage at the Indian Museum, where employees have taken up residence over the years.

``The view is outstanding,'' said Franklin, who obtained a bachelor's degree from California State University, Sacramento, where she double-majored in psychology and park administration. ``To the north is a butte. There are golden eagles out there and hawks' nests that I can see from my back porch. There are snow-capped mountains to the south. At night time, I can see the twinkling lights of Lake Los Angeles.''

It's clear Franklin loves the outdoors and takes advantage of it no matter where she is.

``The time I'm most at peace is when I'm outside enjoying the surroundings,'' Franklin said. ``I take walks around here (at the Avenue M office) to see the Joshua trees and to be outside. That is to me so much of what I do and so much of what I am, even though I'm in a city.''

CAPTION(S):

Photo

Photo: (color in AV edition only) Kathleen Franklin is the new superintendent for the state parks department's Mojave Desert sector.

Jeff Goldwater/Daily News