13 minute read
Nature’s Stewards
NATURE’S Stewards
Meet three alumni working to preserve and protect our precious planet.
by Amy Wilkinson, ’04
When God created man in his own image, he imbued him with an awesome responsibility: to “rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” But with the forward march of time, progress, and technology—as we juggle Zoom calls, school pick-ups, and grocery runs—some of us have lost touch with nature and the role we play in our larger natural world.
Others, however, remain committed to that divine mandate outlined in Genesis. For them, nature isn’t simply a backdrop to modern life, but the thing that imbues it with beauty and purpose. That reminds us what it means to truly be human.
Whether it’s teaching people about indigenous plant life or fundraising to preserve Washington trails, Walla Walla University alumni are planting the seeds of preservation and stewardship in their communities. Here are their stories.
Mackenzie (Thompson) Aamodt, ’16
After serving for years as a chaplain and religion teacher, Aamodt made a pivot into land-use planning. She is currently National Scenic Area Land Use Planner for the Columbia River Gorge Commission in Washington.
Do you have a core memory from childhood that influenced your interest in the outdoors?
I grew up on the San Juan Islands, and my parents rented a small house on the water. Some of my earliest memories are of tide pooling. Later, we moved to Vancouver, Washington, so I spent a lot of weekends hiking in the Gorge. I also spent eight summers at Big Lake Youth Camp, and that was one of the most foundational experiences of my life. I can attribute a lot of who I am today to being a part of that community. That grew such a strong foundation and a passion for working for the outdoors and the environment.
You were a religion major at WWU: What inspired your career change from chaplain and teacher to land-use planner?
I never pictured myself doing one thing for the rest of my life. When we [Aamodt is married to Alex Aamodt ‘17] first moved to Portland, it was so fun to explore the city. There’s so much bike infrastructure and a MAX station near our house that we can hop onto to go to soccer games at the Timbers stadium. Having grown up in the suburbs, where there wasn’t really that infrastructure, it made me start asking questions about the way cities are designed. I didn’t know that being a planner was a job until I started asking those questions. That inspired me to look into that career path. Portland State University happens to have one of the best programs in the nation, and they accepted me—they really value a wide range of experiences.
Having studied religion, the beliefs and value sets that people hold is super interesting to me, and I think that really carries on into my work today—having an understanding of diverse belief systems.
What does your work as a land-use planner for the Gorge entail?
The Columbia River Gorge is really unique because it’s a federally designated National Scenic Area. It stretches from Troutdale, which is on the edge of Portland, all the way to the Deschutes River, which is just outside The Dalles. It spans both Washington and Oregon because it’s centered around the Columbia River. We have six counties within the National Scenic Area on both sides of the river in both states, and we have representatives who sit on our commission that are locally appointed, who all have a say in the decisions and the rules that we make for how to maintain the scenic beauty of the Gorge. We don’t have any jurisdiction over the cities, but they do have an urban-growth boundary.
In the 1980s, there was a huge push to sprawl out into the Gorge, and there wasn’t a lot of regulation for that area. A lot of people who enjoyed the beauty of the Gorge were concerned that it was going to become this industrialized suburb, so there was a push for legislation to protect the area.
If someone wants to build on their land, they have to submit a permit or an application to us through the commission, and then I go out to their land and we walk their property talking about their ideas. When it comes to building a house, for instance, we really try to work with the natural landscape, to site the home behind a hill or trees. We also talk about paint color, so it blends more into the landscape, and design—if it’s out in grasslands, it needs to be lower to the ground.
The Columbia River Gorge is so vast—what do you consider the best vantage point?
I really love the Cascade Divide. If you’re on the Oregon side in the Mosier area, you can look over to the Washington side, and there’s a beautiful sink line, which was created by floods and volcanic activity, and there’s Coyote Wall, where it’s just the most beautiful. Even when I was driving to college through the Gorge, my mouth would drop every time I’d look over at this. It’s this gentle slope that’s a hiking area where a lot of wildflowers grow. It’s called Catherine Creek in the Coyote.
What’s a favorite natural location of yours outside of the Gorge?
For my 30th birthday, I hiked around Mount St. Helens, and that is one of the most incredible landscapes I’ve ever experienced, because it changes every few miles because of the volcanic activity. It still has old-growth forest on the back side of it, and then by the time you get to the east side, it feels like you’re on the moon.
Mike Denny, ’84
When it comes to nature, there isn’t much the biology major hasn’t done. Denny leads field trips for the Blue Mountain Land Trust, serves on the board of the Blue Mountain Audubon Society, and has authored several guidebooks. He currently teaches at Walla Walla Community College.
You spent part of your growing up years in Africa. How did that stir your love for the natural world?
I started bird watching at eight years old in Zambia. My brother and I went out with our African friends into the bush all the time exploring. I got to see all kinds of wildlife and plants, and it became very obvious to me that plant communities determine the wildlife communities, which determine the health of the region.
The ecology of that area was phenomenal. It was called a mopane forest ecozone, and what made it unique? It’s a forest that is fire resistant. How is that possible? Huge bush fires go through there, and the trees can survive any fire. It’s just the most amazing thing, and the grasses and all the woody shrubs are adapted to fires, and they all return at the beginning of the wet season. They get water, and they all pop back up. The other interesting thing about that area was the bird migration. It’s birds coming out of northern Europe and Asia, and they come to southeast Africa. So we got to see native African birds, plus all the European migrants.
What were your favorite birds to spot?
There were two: the lilac-breasted roller and the carmine bee-eater. They’re spectacular.
You worked for the Forest Service for eight years. What were your responsibilities?
I worked for the Conservation Commission, which is a land and habitat restoration organization in Washington. I was in charge of four different conservation district riparian [wetlands adjacent to rivers or streams] restoration groups. In the ’50s, ’60s, and early ’70s, farmers got rid of trees because they wanted to allow their cattle into the river. But it is very important for the ecology of all rivers and streams to have a riparian buffer zone. We discovered that in Washington state, 82% of all the native wildlife has some portion of its life cycle in a riparian area. If we don’t restore those particular habitats, then huge numbers of species can’t make it. We ended up planting 200 miles of restored riparian habitat in Walla Walla County, recovering from the loss of that riparian habitat from farm practices.
You refer to yourself as a naturalist: What does that mean?
A naturalist works with ecology, and they work with people. It’s an educational opportunity, and that’s what I really like to do. You talk to people outside, in places they’ve never been, outside of their bubble. And when you bring people outside of their bubble, they’re more willing to listen to what you have to say. And when you do that, you create questions in their minds: How come this is going on? You allow them to start making their own decisions based on facts from the natural world. It changes people’s mindsets and behavioral traits. All of a sudden it’s like, Maybe I should plant some trees along my creek. It’s a very nice way of changing behaviors, and most people don’t even realize they’re doing it.
Do you have a favorite natural spot?
One of my very favorites is Steens Mountain, which is a 9,700-foot mountain in southeast Oregon. It has four gigantic glacial gorges that are over a mile deep, and they’re full of aspen, and it has no trees on top of it. It has all kinds of very, very delicate plants that grow up there. It is really a phenomenal place. Two of us [Denny and Daniel Biggs] did something no one had ever done in the Pacific Northwest—we made a 17-episode series on the deserts of the Pacific Northwest, including Steens Mountain, and it’s on YouTube. It’s called The Secret Life of the Deserts of the Pacific Northwest.
You’ve made multiple Secret Life video series. Any memorable feedback?
I was guest lecturing at Walla Walla Community College, and the faculty that introduced me mentioned that I had done the Secret Life of the Forest film series. This guy jumps up in the back of the room and he says, “I’ve seen that series.” We all just kind of sat there, and he says, “And that series is the reason I’m in college. I was sitting in my apartment smoking a joint, going nowhere, and your series came on, and I watched it, and I thought, I want to do that. I signed up to start as a freshman two days later, and this next month, I graduate.” It put tears down my face. You never know the impact you have on people’s lives.
Andrea (Stout) Michelbach, ’07
An English major at WWU, Michelbach has followed a—rather fittingly—circuitous path to her current role as Director of Development at Washington Trails Association (WTA).
Has nature always been an important part of your life?
There’s a photograph I hold dear of me and my mom at Banff. I’m on her shoulders, and we’re outside on a trail. At WTA, I keep using this phrase, “I was hiking before I could walk.” Growing up in the North Idaho woods outside of Coeur d’Alene, it was always there and always part of our day-to-day existence. I loved camping. I loved being outside, but I didn’t really start to cherish it until I was much older.
How does your background as an English major dovetail with your work at WTA?
Being an English major and being steeped in the humanities taught me to be curious about other people—and that every person does have a story.
Being able to pull that out was really helpful in my first career in healthcare publishing, and now that I work in fundraising, it’s so important to get at the motivation for why this person cares about giving back. What’s the story behind what they believe about money and helping others and volunteerism?
On your way to fundraising you earned a graduate degree in museology. What is that?
Museology is museum studies. You’ll also see degrees called museum studies, but museology is a little bit more grounded in theory. English got me to be a copy editor and editor, and I thought, I want to be closer to the people that I’m writing about, and I want to be closer to the impact that that writing is having on them. I realized museums are one of those places where a wide group of people come and gather.
I went into museology thinking maybe there’s something here with exhibits or even exhibit-label writing. But I took a fundraising class early, and knew that could be a good path. More so than other parts of museum work, it felt like the connection from English and communications to the relationship piece that I wanted. But I really have spent very little time working in museums. But suddenly through fundraising, I was like, Oh, there’s this whole world of nonprofits doing interesting and and important, necessary things to make the world a better place.
The Tahoma Audubon was your entrypoint into fundraising for the natural world. What made that role so special?
It was the first time I had a full-time fundraising job, and I just really loved that their mission was about connecting people to nature. My family thought it was hilarious, because when I was little, we’d go on trips over from Idaho to the bison range in Montana to watch birds.
My whole family was bird watchers. I would sit in the car and read because I thought it was boring to watch birds. Then I get this job at Audubon, and I fall in love with watching birds. I wish I’d paid attention when I was little.
Now you’re at Washington Trails Association. What does that role look like?
Every day I get to help connect people with giving back to the outdoor experiences they love so together we can ensure there are trails for everyone, forever. I lead a team of eight at WTA, which is a pretty good-sized fundraising team. One of our responsibilities is overseeing membership—we have over 23,000 members every year, which is a lot. It’s a small percentage of the people who hike in Washington, but it’s a lot.
The funding model is complex because we also receive contract revenue from land managers like the Forest Service for trail work across the state. And, I try to get out semi-regularly to do trail work myself so I can meet and work alongside our 4,000 amazing volunteers. Being outside is good for our hearts, bodies and minds, and I definitely feel proud to be part of helping to make that access possible.
What is your favorite Washington trail?
I’ll say the trail that I would really love to get back to at a different time of year is Steamboat Rock Trail. Steamboat Rock is a geological formation on Banks Lake which is south of Grand Coulee Dam. I’ve been up there once, and it’s kind of a little bit of a scramble to get to the top, but once you do, you can look all around you at the lakes, and you can see evidence of glacial Lake Missoula floods, and it’s just beautiful. In the spring, the wildflowers are supposed to be amazing out there, which I would love to see. I’ve only been out there in the summer, so that’s on my list.
