[Lauren E. L. Marshall]

First, I design mostly recreation facilities, and often I am modifying or improving existing sites.  For example, I designed a new low impact campground that allowed us to close the existing camp sites and restore the flood plain they were previously occupying.  I don’t see low impact recreation development as encroaching on forest lands- in fact, I think recreation is a pivotal part of conservation education for the American public.  Building public support keeps the National Forests relevant and shows their importance to appropriators in Congress, allowing us to keep more land in the public trust.  

Second, the Forest Service is a multiple use agency.  This means we are trying to provide the greatest good to the greatest number of people.  Some parts of the National Forests are managed for pristine wilderness (there is little to no human intervention in wilderness areas), but other parts are actively managed for developed recreation, for sustainable timber harvest, for fish habitat, for wildlife, for water quality, etc.  Additionally, some human intervention is necessary in many forest ecosystems to keep them “pristine”.  For years the Forest Service had a strict fire suppression policy.  This, combined with the removal of traditional burning practices maintained by Native Americans, led to many of our forest becoming overly dense.  This leaves them incredibly vulnerable to pest infestation and devastating uncharacteristic wildfire- look at the bark beetle and wildfire issues plaguing our western forests.  By actively managing those forests today through prescribed burning and thinning, we are bringing them back to a more sustainable equilibrium.  We plan for this work through pre-NEPA collaboration to gain public input, then the full NEPA process.  So while it can be cumbersome, I see a lot of value in the NEPA process when it is used correctly to balance resource needs and build public buy in.  

As for visual resource management, I think it can be valuable when utilized correctly, but I agree with you that we should have some areas that remain unscathed by human development- hence my love of our wilderness areas.  That said, development can and should happen in other areas if it helps us build a more ecologically, economically and socially sustainable society.  Working to ensure that development meshes with the unique natural and cultural setting of a site, and that is it sustainable and low impact, is a challenge, but it is the kind of challenge that I enjoy tackling- being the voice for that on interdisciplinary teams is fun for me.  

For me, part of what I love about this career is finding balance- balance between the gut wrenching feeling of seeing a tree cut down and the understanding that wood, when properly grown and harvested, is one of the most sustainable and greenest building materials out there; balance between my belief that greenfield development should be avoided and open space should be preserved and the understanding that development is going to happen and that well planned development can preserve ecosystem services, revitalize lagging neighborhoods, maintain (and even create) habitat connections, and model sustainable site and building development that lessens our collective impact.  

Interesting dialogue!

[Lauren E. L. Marshall]

Hi Trace,

I am with the U.S. Forest Service, so my design work is generally on National Forest System lands.  I am often on teams ensuring that our work (whether design work or restoration work within an ecosystem) aligns with NEPA while meeting high design and aesthetic standards.  Most of my design projects have been on fairly undeveloped sites, so the work is more about site layout, movement patterns and aligning with cultural and natural resources.  

I am also a national program manager, so I spend a lot of time formulating and reviewing high level policy, and cultivating national partnerships to direct policy and resources towards sustainable development.  

Lauren

[Lauren E. L. Marshall]

Well stated, Andrew! As a someone in public practice, I can tell you that my experience this far has been quite different than what Trace describes above.

[Lauren E. L. Marshall]

Hi Gareth,

So sorry about your back! I got hit by a car on my bike a few years ago- that is a terrifying experience to say the least. Was it bike versus car in this case? I have been lucky to walk away relatively unscathed from both of my car-on-human battles (minus some heinous bruising in my most recent car encounter in Thailand), but I know how easily it could have gone the other way.

A few ideas for your current dilemma:

1. Don’t discount the value of good volunteer work! While working your current gig, there is nothing to stop you from starting to build up your skills and experience in your off time. In my last job, I wasn’t getting the zoomed in, community level experience I wanted, so I joined my towns Committee on the Environment, advising them on planning and sustainability issues. When I went to apply for my current job, I included that in my experience section- employers don’t care if you got paid, they just care about the skills your gained. I think it was integral to helping me get this job.

2. Resume! I would have some folks on Land8 (or colleagues from school, etc) review your resume and help you identify ways to strengthen it or skills they see lacking. I am happy to review if it would be helpful.

3. Informational/mentoring interviews. Start setting up informational/mentoring conversations with folks at firms or offices you are interested in. Bring your resume, and approach these as ways to identify skills you are missing to compete well in their offices and suggestions for how to best get those skills. This will also get your name out there, and they may think of you in the future when jobs open up.

Hope that helps!

Lauren

[Lauren E. L. Marshall]

I would encourage you to pursue the track that leaves you with the most flexibility in the end. Given your interests, I think urban planning or landscape architecture both sound like good options for you, but I think the landscape architecture degree is more flexible. Think about it this way- you can do urban planning with a landscape architecture degree, but you can’t do landscape architecture with a planning degree. You are also likely to get more hands on design experience with an LA degree- a skill that comes in handy in urban planning as well.

As an undergrad, I would also encourage you to take as many science courses as you can in order to preserve your array of job options in the future. I work for the U.S. Forest Service, and got my “foot in the door” so to speak using my undergrad degree in Plant Sciences as opposed to my MLA. There are certain jobs in the federal realm that have “positive educational” requirements- basically meaning you have to have a certain number of credits in certain fields to qualify for the job. Having science credits will allow you to compete for more diverse jobs. For example, in my current role as the National Program Manager for Urban and Community Forestry, I work on a lot of urban sustainability issues including adaptation, resilience, community planning, green building and green infrastructure. While my job undoubtedly is a great fit for a landscape architect, it was advertised as a “Natural Resource Specialist” gig. Without my science credits, I could not have successfully competed for my job. Make sense?

I would be happy to set up some time to chat with you about landscape architects in public service- just let me know!

Lauren

[Lauren E. L. Marshall]

Hi Peter- what prep course did you take?  I studied for my last section on my own, and it was painful.  I am in the “still waiting on results’ boat on that one and am feeling the 4-6 week pain…

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