Guy Fleming

Guy L. Fleming (May 27, 1884 – May 15, 1960) was an American naturalist whose conservation work led to the founding of Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve, now a 2000-acre protected coastal area of La Jolla, San Diego. The Torrey pine, Pinus torreyana, is the rarest pine species in the United States.

As district superintendent of state parks for southern California, Fleming also worked to protect major nature preserves that extend from the U.S. border with Mexico to northern San Diego county; these include the natural areas that became Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Cuyamaca Rancho State Park and Palomar Mountain State Park. As a fellow of the San Diego Society of Natural History, he worked closely with scientists and staff of the San Diego Natural History Museum, leading public nature walks for the museum and lecturing on environmental issues.

Biography

Guy and Margaret Fleming House, built in 1927. Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve, San Diego, CA Born in Nebraska on May 27, 1884, to Georgia Lowd and James Fleming (a carpenter), Guy L. Fleming was twelve when his family moved to Corvallis, Oregon. In 1909, he moved to San Diego and found work as a gardener for the Little Lander Colony of San Ysidro, laying out and planting the village park. His work caught the attention of former San Diego County Horticultural Commissioner and chairman of the advisory board for the Little Landers, George P. Hall, who encouraged Fleming to study botany. In 1911 he worked in the nursery preparing for the 1915 Panama–California Exposition; during the fair, he became a guide, giving talks on plants and landscaping. In 1922, they studied the only other stand of Torrey pines on Santa Rosa Island. together they built a small home on the Scripps property at Torrey Pines. Their home, the Guy and Margaret Fleming House, also known as Torrey Pines Reserve Ranger Residence, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in June 1998. In 1932, Fleming was appointed District Superintendent for all southern California state parks (then 20 parks); during the Depression, he had responsibility for the administration of six CCC camps.

Fleming died on 15 May 1960.