A Hunger for High Country: One Woman’s Journey to the Wild in Yellowstone Country - Softcover

Marsh, Susan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0870717561 ISBN 13: 9780870717567

Publisher: Oregon State University Press, 2014

Synopsis

Before the 1970s few women were employed by the U.S. Forest Service. During the 1960s and 70s new environmental and fair employment laws meant that the agency began to hire talented women in professional careers. For the first time women began working as wildlife biologists, geologists, soil scientists, and fisheries biologists for the Forest Service. A Hunger for High Country is the story of one of these women.

Set in the national forests surrounding Yellowstone National Park, A Hunger for High Country is part memoir and part profile of a time and place. Susan Marsh finds her background and values often put her at odds with the agency she works for, and what was supposed to be her dream job in Montana ends in sorrow and frustration after a six year long struggle to fit in. Humbled by her failures, and the part she played in her own downfall, she begins again in the mountains of western Wyoming where she finds refuge and inspiration in nature.

Susan Marsh shares with us not only a vivid portrait of what being a professional woman in a land management agency was like during this time period, but also of the Forest Service itself. Encounters with wolves and grizzly bears, outlaws and renegade lawmen, and moments of beauty inspired by wonder in wild country become the scenes through which Marsh’s palpable appreciation for nature are fully rendered on the page. A Hunger for High Country will appeal to anyone interested in the Forest Service, wild land conservation, Yellowstone, and women’s experiences in the West.

About this title

About the Author

Susan Marsh lives in Jackson, Wyoming. With degrees in geology and landscape architecture and a lifelong interest in creative writing,she has combined her interests into a body of work that explores the relationship of humans to the wild. Her work has appeared in journals that include Orion, North American Review, and Fourth Genre, and in many anthologies. Her books include War Creek, a May Sarton Award winner, A Hunger for High Country, and Saving Wyoming's Hoback, winner of the 2016 Stegner Prize.

From the Back Cover

Before the 1970s few women were employed by the United States Forest Service. During the 1960s and 70s new environmental and fair employment laws meant that the Forest Service began to hire talented women in professional careers. For the first time women began working as wildlife biologists, geologists, soil scientists, and fisheries biologists for the U.S. Forest Service. A Hunger for High Country is the story of one of these women.

Set in the national forests surrounding Yellowstone National Park, A Hunger for High Country is part memoir and part profile of a time and place. Susan Marsh finds her background and values often place her at odds with the agency she works for, and what was supposed to be her dream job in Montana ends in sorrow and frustration after a six year long struggle to fit in.Humbled by her failures, and the part she played in her own downfall, she begins again in the mountains of western Wyoming where she finds refuge and inspiration in nature.

Susan Marsh shares with us not only a vivid portrait of what being a professional woman in a land management agency was like during this time period, but also of the Forest Service itself. Encounters with wolves and grizzly bears, outlaws and renegade lawmen, and moments of beauty inspired by wonder in wild country become the scenes through which Marsh's palpable appreciation for nature are fully rendered on the page.

From the Inside Flap

Before the1970's, very few women were working for the United States Forest Service.However, because of new environmental and fair employment laws, Susan Marsh was hired on to the U.S. Forest Service around Yellowstone National Park. This was the first time women were being hired in the U.S. Forest Service as geologists,scientists, and biologists. Yet, what was thought to be her dream job became six years of frustration due to her inability to fit in, leading her to begin again in the mountains of western Wyoming.

Edition details

• Publisher: Oregon State University Press
• Publication date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0870717561
• ISBN 13: 9780870717567
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 192