This Veterans Day and every day, the Foundation is grateful to all those who served.
Thank you for your service.
When you are spending a day at a BLM visitor center or attending an educational walk at a historic landmark with a park ranger, there’s a good chance that person in blue is a veteran. One in five BLM employees served in the military, prior to joining the nation’s largest land manager. For many of them, boots on the ground came before boots in the backcountry.
Veterans are important members of our nation. And these heroes have access to cultivating a multitude of career opportunities at the BLM that vary as much as the wide variety of landscapes the BLM cares for. Some are wildlife biologists who keep tabs on where elk and sage grouse roam. Others are rangeland specialists who check on the ranges that ranchers and wildlife share. And some are BLM park rangers who look after visitors, like Nacoma Gainan.
When an outdoor adventure doesn’t go as planned near Missoula, Montana, Nacoma is often one of the folks cresting the hill to help. Nacoma is a BLM Park Ranger-turned-Outdoor-Recreation-Planner, and is something of a living legend in this part of the state for all he does for his community. As a native Montanan and military veteran, he knows the terrain like no one else. Nobody is quicker at solving problems for his community, and he usually does it with a smile and a joke here and there.
“I’m going to help people, that’s never going to change,” Nacoma told the Foundation. “You break your leg? I’ll be there to help!”
All he knew at 18 was college wasn’t the path for him so he joined the infantry. He enlisted in the Army in 2000 and served his country with honor. In 2004 he was deployed to Iraq.
When he transitioned to civilian life, he found himself asking what was next. Colleagues at the VA pointed him toward outdoor jobs on public lands, work that could quickly become a career back in the Montana community he called home.
Just like that, he found himself in Montana, working as a seasonal employee of the BLM at Garnet Ghost Town. The popular tourist destination was a natural fit to him. So did the opportunity to spend his days in the field, getting paid to ride snowmobiles, visit public lands, and put his skills from his military service to use. After seven seasons at Garnet as a career seasonal, Nacoma took over for a retired park ranger and made his role permanent. And now, after nearly 20 years on the job at the BLM, he’s a recognizable figure at the Missoula Field Office, even if he’s more likely to be found outdoors.
Nacoma is often found zooming over hills in his utility terrain vehicle (UTV) patrolling, helping with rescues and supporting wildfires efforts. The UTV gets him to people faster than a truck can. When the BLM’s UTV needed critical repairs, the Right Rider Access Fund, a charity that promotes safe and responsible off-highway riding, teamed up with the Foundation to cover them. Now Nacoma is back on the trail, and with the Fund’s support, he’ll keep showing up for his community.
Nacoma’s story is one of many at the BLM. Veterans keep showing up for the rest of us long after they hang up the uniform. While he may not have intended to become a BLM Park Ranger, he’s made a lasting impact and is developing projects that serve Montanans and fellow veterans of all abilities.
ABOUT THE FOUNDATION FOR AMERICA’S PUBLIC LANDS
As the official charitable partner of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the Foundation for America’s Public Lands serves as a convener, partner, and fundraising catalyst to help ensure the health and stewardship of America’s public lands and waters today, and for the future. To learn more, visit americaslands.org.
The Foundation funds projects that solve real-world problems for local communities and public lands. To date, the Foundation has leveraged more than $20 million in 88 on-the-ground projects across the country. Support for these investments is made possible by federal and state funding, as well as the generous backing of charitable partners and donors.
