By Kate Callen

Growing up in Los Angeles, P.J. Solomon heard about the splendors of Yosemite National Park, but she never got to see them in person. Today, as a UC Merced junior and a seasoned Yosemite student intern, Solomon is planning a career in park management, and she's eager to make this natural treasure accessible to all Californians.

The Yosemite Leadership Program is preparing UC Merced undergraduates like Solomon to become professional stewards of public parklands. Intensely interdisciplinary, and working in tandem with the National Park Service, the student environmental leadership program is producing a new generation of park managers equally astute in protecting fragile habitats and bolstering outreach to underserved communities.

"This program has opened up new doors that I didn't even know existed," said Solomon. "As a park intern, I've gone on back-country patrols, I've given talks about wilderness ethics, and I've made contact with a lot of visitors to find out why people come to Yosemite.

"Looking ahead, I'd like to produce a wilderness guide that would be like a 'Backpacking for Dummies,'" she said. "I'd also like to find new ways to bring in new visitors from all over the Central Valley and from all demographic groups."

Expanding program. The environmental leadership program is just one way that UC Merced takes full advantage of its proximity to Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks. The Sierra Nevada Research Institute, the first of the campus' signature interdisciplinary research ventures, has brought scholars from a range of disciplines to conduct field research in the "natural laboratory" of adjacent wilderness. And preliminary discussions are taking place to launch a UC Yosemite, modeled after the UC Washington Center and UC Center Sacramento and open to faculty and students from all 10 campuses.

"One of the charges given to us in the early planning of UC Merced was that this campus would serve as a portal to expand UC's broader presence in the national parks," said Sam Traina, acting dean of the Graduate Division and vice chancellor for the Office of Research. "We have already gone a long way toward fulfilling that charge. UC Yosemite would dramatically increase UC's presence in the national parks by attracting students and faculty from across the system to engage in academic activities in an extraordinary setting."

Future park leaders. Like the other UC Merced wilderness programs, the Yosemite program has forged coalitions across disciplines and divisions. "National Parks and the 21st Century," a special course Traina teaches, explores park management challenges at the intersection of science and public policy. The program's campus stakeholders encompass Academic Affairs, Student Affairs and University Relations, and external partners include Delaware North Companies, a hospitality management company that oversees guest services at Yosemite.

"Like so many things here at Merced, the Yosemite Leadership Program keeps evolving, and every time we meet as a planning group, someone new comes to the table," said David Dunham, UC Merced director of the Campus Recreation and Athletics Department. "And everyone shares the same passion for educating future park leaders and helping the public appreciate the delicate balance of park ecosystems."

Jesse Chakrin of the National Park Service, who helps manage the program, believes that its alumni have the potential to revitalize management of national parks across the country. The national parks need a new generation of leaders who can make our parks relevant to a changing population, he said.

Increasing access. "The demographics of park visitors don't match the demographics of the general population," Chakrin continued. "We need to attract greater numbers of first-time visitors, and as we bring them in, we need to educate them about stewardship and about intelligent use of wilderness areas. So the program has been a perfect fit. One of our student interns, Alvaro Luna, developed a multilingual training program for interpretive rangers and volunteers, and the response to it has been excellent."

Even if they choose careers outside park management, students will be equipped with skills that have broad applicability.

"There are very few jobs that don't have a counterpart in a park as large as Yosemite," said Traina. "Along with environmental protection and educational outreach, our students are gaining experience in municipal facilities, federal courts, business functions, public safety programs and cultural programs."

In the years to come, greater emphasis will be placed on linking the program to other agencies besides the National Park Service that are involved in wilderness management.

As the inaugural Yosemite Leadership Program class prepares to graduate, Solomon believes its alumni will have a transformative impact on the future of national parklands.

"I don't think the Yosemite Leadership Program could have any other name," she said. "Because of this program, we have all become leaders in environmental stewardship, and we have all taken ownership of these natural resources."

Kate Callen is a staff writer in UCOP Strategic Communications.