On Mon, 16 Oct 1995, Lisa M. Smith wrote:

> Another testimonial against selling yourself short:
> Photography, painting, writing... and the list surely goes on. Too many
> people want something for nothing. And for some reason, such people have
> much less compunction about trying to take advantage of creative artists
> than they do of, say, an attorney, or a physician.
>
> I agree with Don and Russell: don't give away your work, unless it's to
> support a good cause. Like the Tweeters tee. ;-)

Tweeters,

I am following this thread with some little amusement. Unlike Stuart, I
*chose* to enter the natural resources field as a profession. I started
out working for $2/hr through college work-study programs and $700/month
GS-3(2?) level state and federal jobs. I earned considerably under the US
Poverty Level for quite a number of years, working about 9 months/year at
temporary/seasonal jobs.

In so doing, I had the opportunity to work in a number of fantastic
places (Malheur NWR, the North Dakota prairies, the Louisiana marshes...
along with the Blue Mtns, the coast ranges, the Skykomish River and at
Westport). BUT, I was *paid* for these jobs - darned little sometimes -
but I was paid.

By the 80s, I had done my bio-techhing for long enough and was ready to
settle down a bit. By that time, the Carter and Reagan administrations
had emphasized *volunteering* as the Great American Way. Volunteering
was institutionalized in the Forest Service, Park Service, Fish and
Wildlife, etc etc. The Student Conservation Assn, among others, picked up
the federal contract monies to organize this effort. Thousands of people
volunteered their time to the Federal natural resources agencies.

The result. A lot of good folks gave of themselves in a 'cause' they
believed in, and the government got a lot of work (biol. surveys, stream
and trail rehablitation, fences mended, and such) that probably wouldn't
have happened if they hadn't been able to volunteer. And all of that was
praised as Good. And it might have been.

However, instead of now hiring a college student or whomever to do the
work as a GS-3 or 4 Biological Aid or Technician, the agencies have
totally sliced the "Temporary Positions" out of their budgets, and rely
on their annual crop of volunteers to get their field work done.

I have railed for years against not paying people for the work they do,
as I feel the same way about my profession as do the professional
writers, painters, computer specialists, or mill workers. Pay me for the
work I do. And don't de-value my work by making it something that is
*expected* to be volunteered (donated). Do folks who want computer work
done assume that professional biologists will donate a summer's worth of
computer time, say, to Microsoft? What a great way to break in to the
computer field....

I certainly appreciate those who volunteer their time and expertise for
The Cause. I routinely volunteer my own time on Breeding Bird Survey
routes, the point-count survey for Neotrop. migrants for the Partners in
Flight folks, for a MAPS banding project, and the Christmas Bird Counts.
We all donate where we can, where we feel it makes a difference, and
where we can take pride in a job well done. The job some of you did up
at Montlake amazes me and shows what great things can be done - and
thanks for the effort!

But, the institutionalized volunteer programs of our Federal and State
resource agencies (fiscally necessary as they may be) are, IMHO, wrong.

'Nuff Ranting. Back to the Birds!

Jon. Anderson
Olympia, WA
anderjda at dfw.wa.gov