Everything Photographic: J. T. Boysen and his ... - Yosemite Online

PARK PROFILENIKI STEPHANIE NICHOLASing about potential restoration projects and researchprojects, I like to look at Yosemite in Time by Klett, Solnitand Wolfe.Name :Niki Stephanie NicholasJob Title : Chief of Resources Management and Sciencefor Yosemite National Park.Hometown : Norris, Tennessee.Education : B .A. Northwestern University (Biology) ; M.S.University of Tennessee (Ecology) ; Ph .D . Virginia Tech(Forestry)Total number of years working in Yosemite : Almostfive years.What first brought you to Yosemite? I came to Yosemiteand the National Park Service from Tennessee . I hadalways wanted to work for the Park Service and whenI saw the job announcement, I knew it was a positionworth a career change, relocation and general change inway of life.What do you do in your job? As Chief of ResourcesManagement and Sciences, I am responsible for all programs,budgets and personnel in natural and culturalresources . This includes wildlife management, ecology,botany, vegetation management, history, historical architectureand landscapes, physical sciences, GeographicInformation Systems, anthropology, archeology andsocial sciences.What is your favorite place in Yosemite? It is difficult topick just one place. Every day when I go to work I pass byEl Capitan . I keep a journal at my office of the differentcaws the morning sky lights the rock . It is a delightful way:o start work.What is your favorite Yosemite book? When I first gotto Yosemite I was not familiar with many of the names,places, and traditions of the park . I thumbed throughSteve Medley 's Complete Guidebook to Yosemite at leastweekly. Currently I find John Muir Laws ' Field Guide to: : e Sierra Nevada incredibly easy to throw in my backpackin case I see something I can 't identify. When think-What is your favorite non-Yosemite book? I have givenaway many copies of A Lady 's Life in the Rocky Mountainsby Isabella L . Bird . As the middle-aged Miss Bird traveledalone through the American West by horseback during1873-74, she wrote a series of letters to her sister back inEngland . She observed and documented a rapidly changingfrontier without romantic jargon or generalization.Her letters are a sort of diary from someone who wastruly open to new experiences.Who is your favorite historical figure? EleanorRoosevelt was active in social work and politics throughouther life . After her husband ' s election, she helped toshape the numerous social programs of the New Deal.She forged unique territory as a First Lady ; she traveledthe country independently of the president, visited coalminers and factory workers, wrote newspaper columnsand opinion pieces, visited soldiers overseas duringWorld War II and advocated for the poor . After FranklinRoosevelt's death, she continued to lecture and writeabout racial equality, women's rights and world peace.Mrs . Roosevelt used every day to try to make a differenceand I find her life story very inspiring.What do you think isYA's most important role? TheYosemite Association provides a wide range of criticalsupport functions for Yosemite National Park. YAs volunteersare essential for a number of park resource managementand interpretation activities . I think the YA-Heydaypublication partnership will continue the tradition ofexcellent Yosemite books . And the art opportunities thatYA offers to visitors are part of what makes the Yosemiteexperience so special.What do you consider your greatest success in thepark to date? Over the past four years we have more thandoubled the number of highly qualified resource managersand scientists in the park . The park has providedexcellent new work spaces for Resources Managementand Science staff as well as our USGS and Sierra NevadaResearch Institute partners . These facility improvementshelp us attract the best and the brightest and provide bettermeeting places for researchers from across the country.YOSEMITE ASSOCIATION, FALL 200825