Natural Tenacity

Some of my family and friends have been asking how I got interested and which ways I invested into my current job. Below is an excerpt from my journal in 2007 that I found and it was a good reminder to track my attitude towards work and the current trends occuring in the Department of Homeland Security that affect my work on the refuge:.

I see a career in natural resource law enforcement as the intersection of my academic and professional endeavors in community outreach, environmental policy developement and outdoor recreation and safety. Therefore while I finished my degree in urban planning and internship with the City of Tacoma, I continued proactively engaged in several hundred hours of ridealongs with officers representing both U.S. and Washington State Fish and Wildlife agencies. I was involved in hunter and fish checks, decoy operations, and environmental education opportunities, including a visit to the federal wildlife forensics laboratory in Ashland, OR. Here I was exposed to the various methods used by USFWS specialists to identify species, which promoted my ongoing studies of Pacific Northwest waterfowl, big game and fish. I also learned about the importance of collecting evidence in an accurate and timely fashion, witnessing various methods for retrieving latent prints and identifying matches for bullets used in crimes against wildlife. In short, this experience, combined with ridealongs in the field, has more thoroughly prepared me for a career in law enforcement. I maintain top physical condition by weight training, boxing, trail running. I have also recently been trained in proper handling and firing of pistols, rifles and shotguns on certified ranges. It would be an honor to train at Federal Law encforcement training center and thorugh Refuge Officer Basic School as I gain credentials to work for the USFWS.

In conclusion, I have developed passion for helping people to understand natural resources and learn more about the agencies that strive to protect them. If granted the opportunity to work as a refuge officer through the Federal Career Intern Program, I will continue to deliver exceptional public services while striving for practical methods to ensure the safety of both humans and wildlife on refuges. It is my ultimate goal, through exceptional communication skills and problem solving tactics, to become an impressive officer and ambassador for the US. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Thank you for your time and consideration of my application. I am very interested in discussing my background and professional interests with you.

Respectfully submitted,
R

I finally made it out of the valley on Friday with my wonderful mother who was visiting from back north. My inspiring and sweet coworker and friend, Sallie was also there with her sister Libby. They recently moved from Georgia and have a slough of knowledge to dispense as I am also heading to Georgia in a few weeks time. For instance, I didn't know that if you are "fixin" to do something it has to be within a day or two... you can't be "fixin to go to Georgia next month". We all four laughed and laughed as we considered what southern-sounding GPS directions would sound like. Sallie's unit in her "vee-hickle" is set to British - the roads pronounced with a very uptight and impatient tone. (It's even possible for a computer, I swear). "By the bar on the corner, hang a right, then go yonder!" Libby was mocking as we drove the windy roads along Willamette National Forest. We all agreed that if somebody actually designed and marketed the southern custom GPS it would be a best seller. I also heard about the artificial ski slope in Alabama, which neither sister seemed to be too impressed with. But they had a great time learning to cross country at HooDoo resort , nestled between the magnificent Three Sisters peaks and the towering Three-Fingered Jack. (We all wondered if the Seven-Fingered Jack in Washington State is his brother, or just Jack's other hand.... it still adds up to ten!) After their lesson and several dozen practice runs down the slope in front of the chairlifts, they felt as though they had enough "shiners" where the "sun don't shine". I fell pretty hard myself, not used to the fact the cross country skis are narrow with a blunt edge, and only connected at the toe. Good for climbing and gliding, but not for riding downhill!

Anyways, it couldn't have been better weather. Sunny, perfect breezes when you needed them, and not a cloud to shroud the glory of these mountains around us. I was also happy to gain some freckles back after a looooong hiatus from sunlight. Park rangers can be vain too!

I need to fix my lwaky faucet. One of the most enjoyable things in life lately is learning practical skills, whether it be reignitig my pilot light, installing new fixtures... or getting my toilet to quit running! Time to be a self-starter, motivated and creative problem solver.

What makes a strong woman?


Emily and I started working in new positions on the same day in late October. She works in local government, carrying out a wide variety of duties for urban outreach and community development. I am a park ranger working at a national wildlife refuges. The achievement of our new careers is monumental because we all demonstrate strength when we work. Work demands that we be creative, responsible, engaged and productive at set periods of time and grow to be experts in a certain field. I thought that when I finally landed my dream job things would fall into place, because I am doing something that I am passionate about, and desire greatly to make a positive difference. In truth, that goal is very challenging. It takes the deliberation of a strong woman.

The working world also requires us to stand up for ourselves, to be deliberate and confident in how we behave. It is almost a psychological game; especially as the ‘new kid on the block’ I have had to put up a façade of knowledge. “Sure, I can handle it” I say, even if I may not. Ironically, this is also strength. If I tell myself enough that I can: I will.

I can: I will

Not all that long ago, working women were held to a much different standard. The prevailing attitude was that woman are weak, unskilled or just plain too pretty to be willful. We call our blog NATURAL TENACITY because of course a woman’s strength is organic. Intuitively, we can be sensitive, but gentleness does not override the courage, spunk, and ferociousness that women can embody when they need to.

This blog is an attempt to capture the potential within our collective experience. I am extremely proud of Emily, and she is of me. We encourage each other to remember our values and keep them intact when we are faced with the challenge of molding our careers into opportunities. the jobs do not define us. I want to tell you about what it is like to be a park ranger and keep you informed on the events that are occurring in the local, national and global political arena that affect how we “manage” the environment. I also want to find similarities in Emily’s job and compare the ways in which her efforts in a city setting are progressive.

Emily and I also want this to be an expression of legacy. I only briefly mentioned the significance of women who came before us, laid foundations for our professional growth. We are grateful for all people who give gifts of themselves, devoted to a cause. We want to leave a legacy. In this sense, we are always in between queens of the past and future, and it is a great place to be. Then we may never have to answer the question, only ask it:

What makes a strong woman?

This is a place to share strategies for co-creating a movement that is rooted in public service, environmental conservation, eco-psychology, social equity, and and all things toward positive change. It's also a place to share stories of our personal experiences, new things we've learned, and any ideas for helping women embrace the opportunity to lead in the healing of our species and biosphere.

natural: The word nature is derived from the Latin word natura, or "the course of things, natural character"; Originally related to the intrinsic characteristics that plants, animals, and other features of the world develop of their own accord; implies a distinction between the natural and the artificial.

tenacity: holding fast; characterized by keeping a firm hold; persistent; cohesive; the quality of being determined to do or achieve something; "her determination showed in her every movement"; "she is a human with purpose".