Tangy’s LHIP experience led her to apply to a HAF’s Resource Assistant position at the US Forest Service Wilderness and Wild & Scenic Rivers program. This program manages iconic wilderness areas and rivers and is guided by the Wilderness Act of 1964 and the Wild & Scenic Rivers Act of 1968. In her words: “The regional perspective and Washington office perspective have provided me with significant career direction. We hear a lot about pressing environmental issues but identifying who is doing the work and untangling all the partnerships behind projects can be difficult.”

Learning from the challenges, Tangy has identified several reasons why she values the role of federal public land agencies in environmental conservation and stewardship:

• Four government agencies manage almost 30% of U.S. lands
• Agencies with “multiple-use” missions for the land expose you to all the groups that value public lands, not just the ones that align with your values.
• Many agencies are global leaders in research and land management.
• We want our government to reflect the makeup of its citizens.

Keeping all of these reasons in mind and heart, the MANO team will continue to devote our energy to solidify the environmental career pipeline for upcoming professionals such as Tangy. Thanks to her stellar work in the Wild Scenic Rivers Program, Tangy will continue her fellowship for another 6 months. Tangy shared with us: “I couldn’t believe that there was such a specific niche of people with interests and backgrounds like mine when I learned about these programs! That gave me more confidence in pursuing this career field. I’ve also had some pretty rad supervisors. Vanessa Lacayo from NPS, and Steve Chesterton and Sandy Skrien from USFS have been great role models for me!”