Herma

Named after the very first permanent female park Naturalist:
Unless you scour the internet for Herma Albertson Baggley, you probably have no idea who she is. Yet, she is one of the most important women in the history of the National Park Service. Born in Iowa, Herma Albertson left home in the fall of 1921, traveling west to attend the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho. For the next few years, she studied diligently at the idllic town, surrounded by both the rolling beauty of the Palouse and the forests, rivers and mountains on the Idaho Panhandle. Majoring in botany, with a minor in philosophy, Herma was apparently like most freshly graduate college students, looking to dive into work somewhere that would fulfill her major. She "settled" on working at summer at Yellowstone National Park as a naturalist.

While she paid her room and board as a pillow puncher at the Old Faithful Lodge, she was quite active in encouraging others to go out and explore Yellowstone, helping to create the first nature trail around the Old Faithful geyser area. She guided visitors around the region, served as a substitute lecturer at the Old Faithful Lodge and even kept displays of the wildflowers found around Yellowstone in the famous lodge. Attendance for the events she led skyrocketed, helping Yellowstone officials to make the decision to hire her full time.

For the next three years summers, Herma was an amazing guide in the park, educating and entertaining guests form all over the world, using her megaphone to deliver interpretive talks during hikes around the Old Faithful region. After an injury, she was transferred up to Mammoth Hot Springs, where she worked in the Mammoth Museum and Information Office. It was during this time that things really started happening for Herma.

Since Yellowstone was closed due to wintery, snowy conditions, Herma spent the fall, winter and spring months teaching high school science, garnering the attention of her alma mater, the University of Idaho. U of I offered her a graduate fellowship in the botany department, receiving her master's degree in the subject in 1929. For a year, she was an instructor at the university, before she stepped away to become an Assistant Park Naturalist. Within a year, she was promoted and became the very first woman in Yellowstone to be appointed Junior Park Naturalist.

For the next seven years, Herma's work would become the standard for National Park Naturalists. She wrote 22 articles for NPS publications, including the famous Yellowstone Nature Notes. At 42 years of age, she wasn't even close to being done. In 1936, Herma co-authored the book "Plants of Yellowstone National Park," which, due to its incredible depth and detail, is still used in the park today. She also fought to improve living conditions in our National Parks for both employees and their families. The argument she used was simple- if you improve housing and other benefits, you would be able to recruit better-qualified staff. Thankfully, her voice was listened to and today, NPS employees have much better housing and benefits, bringing in talents, passionate and professional staff that we all know and love.