Over two days, I drove 500 miles through the Los Padres National Forest near Ventura and Ojai in Southern California. As an outdoor enthusiast, I’ve visited many parks but rarely explored Los Padres’ backcountry. Some areas feel more like the Sierras, despite being just two hours from Los Angeles. Recently, the Trump administration has pushed to open this land for uranium mining, logging, and more oil drilling. I also took portraits of Jim Hines, a self-funded lobbyist working hard to protect these public lands. By June, he had already made five trips to Washington, D.C., meeting with politicians to share his love for growing up in the forest.