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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 13, 2017)
December 13, 2017 The Skanner Portland Page 9 News Seeing the Big Picture as a Wildlife Ecologist Barbara Garcia refl ects on a near-20-year-career in the US Forest Service “ trees. I spend a lot of time in front of my computer, sadly, anymore, review- ing manuscripts and models. My brain and my eyes are pretty fried at the end of the day.” Garcia recommends young people who are considering a career in wildlife management seek out opportunities for fi nancial aid, but also seek out mentors and net- working opportunities What you take, you stew- ard -- and you don’t harvest something without recogni- tion of what that means decision-making relative to public lands in the US.” Garcia is now a region- al wildlife ecologist for the U.S. Forest Service, and has been working out of Portland since February of this year, af- ter jobs in the Northern Rockies, the Great Basin and a short detail job in the Southeast right aft er Hurricane Katrina. She’s worked for the agency since 1999. Her current position involves work- ing with partnering agencies and academic institutions on research and making recommen- dations to either main- tain or rehabilitate eco- systems throughout the region. She likes the com- plexity and biological di- versity of the Northwest. “I think the constit- uents of Oregon and Washington really ex- pect a high level of sci- ence for managing these places that they value so much,” Garcia said. “I spend a lot of time in the through groups like the Wildlife Society, which holds an annual confer- ence in February and has some campus chapters. She also said she recog- nizes volunteering isn’t an option for everybody, but is something to con- sider. Being willing to move around can be key to building a career in the Forest Service, Garcia said, and that can be challenging. Her family moved every few years when she was growing up, and were sometimes the only Hispanic family in their community. In addition, being constant- ly mobile as an adult has sometimes made it diffi - cult to maintain family ties as an adult. Garcia also stressed the signifi cance of prioritiz- ing education above ev- erything else – and not worrying about gradu- ate work until bachelor’s coursework is complete. One potential door-opener, said Forest Service spokesperson Shandra Terry, is schol- arships off ered through a partnership between the Forest Service and The Skanner Foundation. “One of the main focus areas where The Skan- ner Foundation and the US Forest Service really connect was at the inter- section of ensuring that we are supporting our young people in this com- munity, and really en- couraging and inspiring them to further their ed- ucation and to consider natural re- sources as a potential ca- reer choice,” Terry said. “ W e ’ r e talking for- estry, fi re, wildlife b i o l o g y, comput- er science, hydrolog y, those types Barbara Garcia, a wildlife ecologist for the U.S. of disci- Forest Service, grew up loving the outdoors and plines. That had a father who worked for the Forest Service, was one of but didn’t consider a career in natural resources the reasons management until college. that in- such a very deep way spired this partnership of wanting to create the because The Skanner next generation of natu- Foundation and the US ral resources land stew- Forest Service share in ards.” PHOTO BY CHRISTEN MCCURDY B arbara Garcia’s fa- ther was a wildlife biologist for the U.S. Forest Service, but she didn’t envision herself following in his footsteps. Fascinated by sci- ence, Garcia originally planned to pursue a ca- reer in medicine – pedi- atric psychology to be specifi c. In college at the University of New Mexi- co, she majored in biolo- gy with a pre-med track and started working in the medical fi eld. Aft er a particularly stressful job at a psychiatric clin- ic “that dealt with some really ugly, ugly things,” Garcia began to consider other options. She’d grown up loving the outdoors, and her father advised her to seek seasonal work in the Forest Service before settling on a defi nitive career path. She took a summer job as a fi sheries technician in northern Idaho, assisting with hy- drological surveys and fi sh surveys – and later went to graduate school at the University of Ida- ho’s wildlife program. Garcia said her par- ents were initially dis- appointed when she an- nounced she didn’t want to go to medical school, but ultimately support- ive of her decision to transition to a career in wildlife management. In many ways, she said, it was a continuation of the values and lifestyle she was raised with. “The culture in New Mexico, especially with the Native American in- fl uence -- I do have a little bit of that in my family heritage -- is a very spir- itual connection to the ground. What you take, you steward -- and you don’t harvest something without recognition of what that means,” Garcia said. “I think growing up with those sorts of values led me to wanting to be a part of management and Who Will Become the Next President of South Africa? By Stacy M. Brown (NNPA Newswire Con- tributor) T he African Nation- al Congress (ANC), South Africa’s governing social democratic political par- ty once led by the late Nelson Mandela, faces perhaps its most conten- tious and controversial election yet. On Dec. 18, the par- Lindiwe Sisulu, the nation’s minister of Defense and Military ty will vote for its next Veterans, is among the candidates for the ANC’s next president. president, a contest that In this photo, Lindiwe Sisulu, participates in a ceremony, during puts former health min- a visit to Brazil. ister Nkosazana Clarice Lindiwe Sisulu, the nation’s minister Dlamini-Zuma against Deputy Prime Minister Cyril Rama- of Defense and Military Veterans. phosa and three others including See SOUTH AFRICA on page 11 WIKIMEDIA COMMONS By Christen McCurdy Of The Skanner News A career you can be proud of. Being a carpenter isn’t just a job. It’s a way of life. We’re devoted to strengthening the lives of our members with steady work, wealth and personal growth. We take a stand for our members and all workers. We work together to lead the building industry in safety, training and compensation. We create rich lives for our members and partners. 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