Looking Back: Career Advice

My first job with the Forest Service was after my freshman year of college in 1974 as a GS3 seasonal “Forestry Aid” on the Ozark St Francis National Forest in Arkansas. It was a rich summer full of diverse culture and opportunity. I enjoyed the bluegrass music, fried pies and gathering sasafrass roots for tea.

Upon arriving on the Buffalo District the clerk asked me “are you sure you want to work with those men? Can you type?" My aim was to be in the woods, and that I did as I spent the summer on the timber stand improvement crew, cruising timber and cleaning campgrounds. By the end of the summer I decided I would pursue wildlife and botany. The district storeroom was loaded with publications, and anxious to launch my career plans I looked for advice. This is what I found:

• Should you Be a Forester? Does this profession have room for women? A few, perhaps in the research laboratories. In the main it is a man’s job. Over the past few years, many girls have enrolled in the University of Washington College of Forestry. Only two ever succeeded in graduating. Neither is still practicing forestry. They did the next best thing. They married foresters. (Fredrick Weyerhauser, New York Life Insurance Company, 1960)

• Women in Forestry Some women have attained a technical background in forestry research, educational or library work. Others interested in conservation and related fields have been trained in fiscal or administrative management work. Thus, should a woman seek a career in forestry, her aims might be best channeled toward specialized research, education or administrative fields rather then the actual technology or applied forestry. (USDA Miscellaneous Publication 244, 1967)

This was so inside-out that I kept the brochures in my desk drawer through out my career as a personal challenge and to remind me how far we have come.

Best of the Best

Tongass National Forest, Brady Glacier - August 2005. Yes that's Nic, Pete, myself, Ali and Davyd. This was the best vacation ever. We had a week on a boat, hiking glaciers, watching whales, eating like kings and queens and loving being together. Pete lived and worked in Alaska for sixteen years and we have vacationed there together three times. It is one of the greatest things about working for the Forest Service - great places and meeting great people to be outdoors with.

Never Say Never

Milwaukee, Wisconsin - October 2001. When I was twenty years old I told myself I was never going to live in a city again. Never say never (I know.) I was ready for change and had been on the Chippewa much longer then planned to raise my kids after their dad/my husband died. My last few years on the Chip I was able to work remotely for the Eastern Region Threatened and Endangered Species (TES) Program. The timing couldn't have been better, as Davyd was born in 1999 and we had the perfect balance with a nanny and I at home with him for his early years. Rare species have always my passion - natures treasure hunt. The Regional Office made the position permanent in 2001, and I was chosen as the Regional TES Biologist. We were off to Milwaukee.

Professionally it was a good move. I was able to advance through three positions, from TES Biologist to Regional Botanist to my current position as Deputy Director of Renewable Resources. Although I missed the direct tie to the land and local people, it didn't take me long to appreciate the ability to make a difference on a broader scale. I worked with biologists and botanists from across the country that I so admire. It was affirming for me be recognized with a Regional Honor Award a couple years ago for "making a difference". During this same time, I participated in a leadership program and then moved into the Deputy Director position.

Though I said I would never (I know, I know) move my kids in high school, they thrived in Milwaukee. Nic and Ali were glad to broaden their world and the education they received at Nicolet High School couldn't be topped. We all missed our friends but learned that time and space can't separate those you hold dear. We all enjoy the diversity of the arts, people and entertainment that Milwaukee offers. I still miss the woods and have vowed to return, but we live across the street from a 200 acre forest a quarter mile from Lake Michigan - so I imagine all the time.

Looking West

Walker Minnesota - 1984. My husband David and I wanted to move out west, and we got as far as the next forest: the Chippewa. I was the Supervisory Biologist on the Walker District and then the Forest Public Affairs Team Leader. David was the Pre-Sale Forester and then Timber Management Assistant Ranger on the Cass Lake District.

As on the Superior, I took pride in shifting wildlife programs to integrate more with timber sales, initiating botany and interpretive programs. As Public Affairs Team Leader I broadened relationships with Leech Lake Reservation, revamped publications and marketing and initiated interpretive programs that greatly increased public participation. Kay Getting and I proved that job sharing was a viable option - even for Forest Leadership Team positions.

My family grew as Nic was born in 1985 and Ali in 1988. Life's biggest challenge was brought to me when David died accidentally in 1990. I grew more then ever as I balanced my career and being a single parent for seven years. Pete Tennis, a Ranger and Natural Resource Team Leader on the forest, and I were married in 1997. Davyd was born in 2001. I couldn't have done it without the flexibility the Forest Service offered. And let's not forget the friendships...Nancy Salminen, Connie Chaney, Candy Fitzloff-Westfield, Dee Oliver, Connie Clark and Rollie Haugen kept a smile on my face.

A Real Job

Superior National Forest - November 1979. Wow, my dream come true, I was a Biologist with a capital"B". After seasonal jobs on the Ozark St Francis National Forest in Arkansas, North Central Research Station in Ely and St Paul Minnesota, the Isabella District on the Superior and with the Minnesota DNR, in my mind I had finally arrived.

Not only did I start my professional career here, but many important relationships in my life. Dave Miller, my first Ranger and his wife Anne are dear friends and my daughter Ali's godparents. Dave lead the Aurora District as the best team I ever experienced. Mary Shedd, one of my closest friends is now the Forest Biologist on the Superior. Mary and I worked with Mark Korb (1954-1979) at Kawishiwi Lab - he was one special guy. My husband David Johnson (1955-1990) and I met on the Superior. I have many fond memories of all those I worked with on the Isabella, Ely, and Aurora Districts. So many good times - I left my heart on the Superior.

Destination: National Forests

Lewis and Clark National Forest - 1968. That's me with the Twiggy haircut - and the rest of the Berlin clan: Greg, Eric, Jill, Jay and Kathy. Our first camping trip out west. How I loved it! We hiked, made forts along the creeks, played in the roots of trees and every morning my dad would belt out a Tarzan yell. We were wild little hooligans living out of our pop-up camper. At thirteen, I loved the freedom, I loved the beauty all around me. I didn't exactly know I was on a national forest, but I remember thinking I wanted to live in one of the towns that had those brown and yellow signs.

And that I did as I made my home on the Ozark St Francis, Superior and Chippewa National Forests since 1974. I have hiked, camped, kayaked, skied and explored about a third of the national forests. In my opinion the most beautiful places in the U.S.

First Time Away from Home

Here I am at age five with my brothers Greg and Eric, sister Jill and dad on my first trip away from home without my family. I went camping at Norway Beach on the Chippewa National Forest with my friend Nancy Jo and her family. I remember fishing, swimming, riding a "surf board" behind a boat, campfires and leeches on my ankles! I returned to the Chippewa when I was ten at Camp Cassaway Girl Scout Camp on Cass Lake (I still remember the camp song!) A few years later I camped with my family at Stony Point and Norway Beach Campgrounds on the Chip - I baked my first blueberry pie in a dutch oven and and watched shooting stars and brilliant pink northern lights with my Uncle Bud. Little did I know that in 1984 I would move to the Chippewa as a Supervisory Wildlife Biologist, and later the Public Affairs Team Leader. I raised my children Nic (22) and Ali (19) as "kids in the woods", living out their days until 2001 on the Chippewa National Forest.

"Here we are on the paths of Cassaway
Happy, free while the sun shines all the day
Here we live like Indians as they did so long ago
Here we live neath hill and dale
Where birch and pine trees grow
Here we are on the paths of Cassaway!"

Ali helped me set up this blog

Well, let's give it a try. This will be an interesting month...three weeks until I retire. Stay tuned for the good stuff. I didn't paint the poppies...Georgia did.