YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. — Fifty-nine years after Yellowstone National Park (YNP) was founded, Herma Albertson Baggley became the first woman to have a permanent position as a National Park Service (NPS) ranger-naturalist in the park.
Years prior, Baggley was a schoolteacher who went on to receive a master’s degree in botany after being inspired by plant life during a tour in YNP.
During the summer seasons of 1929 and 1930, she worked as a “pillow puncher” (a term for a maid) for the Yellowstone Park Company at Old Faithful.
In 1931 Baggley accepted the first full-time ranger-naturalist position for any woman in the park. During her time there, Baggley built the Observation Point trail and guided visitors on it so they could experience natural history. Most notably, she was formally trained as a botanist and collaborated with plant ecologist W.B. McDougall to produce the first wildflower field guide for the park.
Herma later married George Baggley in 1931, the Chief Park Ranger in Yellowstone from 1929-1935.
The National Park Service remembers Baggley as a “brilliant” naturalist.
“She had more knowledge on the park and plant life than most of her male counterparts, so it is no wonder that her tours and talks were taken by hundreds of visitors every day,” said NPS.
“Baggley was attributed with the discovery of the Rubber Boa Snake and she continues to be an inspiration to young girls and women alike who want to work for the National Park Service and also those who wish to pursue degrees in the sciences.”
