When she wasn’t out in the field working on behalf of wild shrub steppe critters, Jaynee Levy used to occupy an office in the Education Center at McNary National Wildlife Refuge in Burbank. We became allies as she worked with Friends of Mid-Columbia River Wildlife Refuges to offer visitors environmental education experiences at events, in programs, and through impromptu onsite encounters. She led the effort to imprint wildlife tracks in the walkways around the Headquarters buildings. After retiring from USFWS, Jaynee joined our Friends of Mid-Columbia group and has continued to support regional refuges, from attending board meetings to guiding kayak adventures.
The following was edited down from a 40-minute interview.
What about your childhood took you outside in such a devoted way?
I grew up on Long Island, New York, an only child with urbanite parents. In grade school we went on a cross country trip from New York to California and back. Although we stayed in motels and ate mostly at restaurants, it was eye opening to see national parks. A few years later, my parents signed me up to join a group of older kids on a summer trip to a Colorado dude ranch where we rode horses in the Rockies everyday. What a wonderful trip! I fell in love with the American west.
Besides gardening, my parents did not have much interest in nature; I would escape alone to the woods, my happy place. My grandparents’ huge vegetable garden and fruit trees kept me busy collecting Japanese beetles, enemies of the garden. When they moved to an apartment along the Long Island Sound, I’d walk the beach, talk to fishermen, and collect horseshoe crabs and shells. Walt Disney stories on television and my Grandfather’s curios from his African trips fueled my desire to go to Africa.
In 1969 when you looked beyond high school, did you know you’d go to college and get a degree in environmental sciences?
Where I grew up on Long Island, there was a lot of pressure to attend college. At Cornell, I started in pre-veterinary medicine. But the lab work gave me psychotic shock … so I chose to steer myself in another direction. Still very interested in animal behavior, I earned a Bachelor of Science in Ecological Studies and Environmental Education. Then, I pursued a graduate degree at Yale, studying with top professionals, including ornithology professor Charles Sibley.
When I got my master’s from the Yale Forestry School, I tried to get a job in Africa, as that was my enduring desire since childhood. My dean connected me with his friend (and alumnus) who had grown to value the Appalachian Trail while he attended Yale. He hired me to create an equivalent trail system in South Africa. Though I was engaged at the time, I chose to fly to Pretoria to join the South African forestry department. A one year contract turned into a twelve and a half year endeavor!
So, you opted out of marriage to have a life in Africa, after all?
Marriage and children were never on my radar screen growing up. Paul Ehrlich’s book The Population Bomb made a really big impression on me. Growing up in New York, sitting in the back seat of my parents’ car in overwhelming traffic, I would say, “I could ride my bike to our destination faster.” I wanted to be a conservationist. I said to myself, failing in everything I do, if I don’t have children, at least I will be part of the solution and not contribute to the problem.
Tell me more about building the South African Trails.
The plan was to construct a long distance trail system, named the National Hiking Way System, along the mountainous rim of South Africa. Two major challenges existed in South Africa: lack of public transport, and a hesitation to allow dispersed camping due to wildlife. Shuttling back to the trailhead was impossible, so I ended up building somewhat circular trails — big loops.
Yielding to the wildlife, we built small huts of thatch like the ones that the Africans build in their villages. We also converted old farmhouses spaced a day hike apart. Naturally, we encountered some problems. Without tents in bad weather, hikers would push on to reach the huts, sometimes experiencing hypothermia. I think they have since built some campsites. One thatched hut near the end of the Amatola trail became my home where I’d invite hikers in to get feedback on the trail.
At a Yale reunion, a young man assured me that the trails that I helped to establish are known to be some of the best trails in the country. Others have noted increased vandalism. Hiking is not as safe as it was when l lived in Africa.
How did you return to America?
Life in the wilds became treacherous there, politically, as apartheid was failing. I returned to the U.S. and became a seasonal park ranger in Colorado. I’d return to Africa for six months [at a time], and did this for two seasons, but eventually did not return to South Africa. Instead, I joined the Bureau of Land Management in California where I was hired to complete the Pacific Crest National Trail.
How did you get involved with the Fish and Wildlife Service?
From my work with the Bureau of Land Management in California, I transferred to the Bureau of Land Management in Utah where I was an outdoor recreation specialist, working mostly in the San Rafael Swell. I managed recreation in some beautiful, sensational, unique red rock country.
After about a decade of doing this work, my office hired a manager, a petroleum engineer from Wyoming, who knew nothing about outdoor recreation. Because he never followed environmental laws [or the] National Environmental Policy Act, often destroying the cryptobiotic soil and Native American artifacts with ATVs and advocating for gas development, I started a lawsuit against him. In retribution, he made my life very difficult by curtailing my every effort to protect the land and its wildlife inhabitants. So, while I was suing him, I applied for other jobs, including the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS).
Though I loved the Utah land and its creatures, I couldn’t get away from this manger fast enough. My goal joining the USFWS was to work in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge after having floated a river there. The first job I got, sight unseen, was with the Mid-Columbia River National Wildlife Refuges, including McNary National Wildlife Refuge.
That’s when I met you. Whenever you sensed a concern, you’d go out and do what needed to be done, and nobody was going to stop you. I really appreciated that energy!
Describe your ideal, natural place where you could find sanctuary.
Self-propelled walking, hiking, or biking to solitude. I love wildlife of all kinds, a pristine mountainous environment, alpine areas, and mountain lakes. The fewer people around, the better.
Do you have a practice that reconnects you with the core value that has kept you engaged with nature since you were young?
I find that I need a constant input of nature to keep my sanity. I purchased a townhouse in Missoula, a town surrounded by mountains, an easy distance from very nice walks and bike rides that remind me of what is truly important in life.
What motivates you? What wisdom do you have for environmentally-inclined young people? How can they meaningfully connect with nature in the face of political devastation?
Follow your dreams. Don’t let all the superficial stuff in life get to you. Don’t worry if other people think you should be like somebody else or think of you a certain way. If you love nature, go out there, explore, learn what you can. Learn everything you can about what you love.
Nature is a companion in itself. And you’ll find your world. You’ll find [like-minded] people that enjoy the same things. And that’s where you’ll focus your social life. Make sure your career life meshes with what you love doing. Fight for what you love, whether it’s political or environmental. Travel, see places and how others live. Be an ambassador for our planet.
