A Woman to Know: Herma Baggley
The day a park employee's marriage license becomes her discharge papers is long past. — Herma Baggley
(image via National Parks Service)
As the first female naturalist to work in the National Parks Service, Herma knew she had a pretty big job — actually, more like two jobs.
She had her usual duties — carefully laying the first nature trail around the Old Faithful Geyser, documenting the flora and fauna in Yellowstone, leading tour groups through the park's natural wonders — and also her "first woman" duties — organizing the other women in the National Park Service Women's Union, fighting with male rangers to ensure ladies had suitable housing inside the park, and (*eye roll*) dealing with mansplaining tourists who'd quote her own research back to her.
But within the park, Herma felt at peace. Other rangers remembered the thick notebook she'd carry on her solo nature walks, where she'd press unusual flowers and neatly document her observations. She eventually collected these notes in a book, "Plants of the Yellowstone Park" — it's now required reading for any Yellowstone ranger.
Add to your library list:
Plants of Yellowstone Park (Herma Baggley)
National Parks and the Woman's Voice: A History (Polly Welts Kaufman)
Read more:
Brief History of the National Parks (The Library of Congress)
A Wildflower in Yellowstone: Herma A. Baggley (National Parks Service)
Breaking the Glass Ceiling (Department of the Interior)
Herma A. Baggley (National Parks Service)
Vintage photos of the early days of our national parks (CBS News)
Herma Albertson Baggley (National Parks Service)
11 women who made conservation history (EcoWatch)
The guide to all 59 National Parks (The Washington Post)
See more:
10 women who change the way we see nature (Mother Nature Network)
Plants of Yellowstone Park (Herma Baggley)
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