I first met Stephen Gibbons last year during the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the great eruption of Lassen Peak. We had scientists from the United States Geological Survey there and I got to emcee some of the events.
I had heard nothing but good things about Stephen from a close friend who recently retired from the park. I heard that he always had an open door, and that Steve was often out of the office doing what he should; visiting park staff and seeing what they were doing.
It was a refreshing change in leadership dynamics there. After the May 2015 event, I received a beautiful thank-you card from Superintendent Gibbons. It had a lovely note with the most beautiful handwriting I had ever seen in my life.
One day I happened to be driving by park headquarters and stopped to walk my doggies and take a break. Stephen was there and invited us in – including my two little dogs. We chatted and I commented on his lovely penmanship.
“Ah, that was the nuns,” said Stephen, and he let me know that they were pretty strict teachers of handwriting. Recently we chatted again. Steve was getting over a bad cold but took the time to chat with me.
Once in a while you get to be in the presence of someone who is really special. There is a goodness inside them that is just there, and you feel it. Being in Stephen Gibbons’ company for a few minutes, I can’t imagine anyone not getting that same feeling.
We are really lucky to have this man leading our local National Park. He shared with me that he has three priorities for the park: 1. the staff’s well-being (that would seem like an obvious thing but a lot of people in leadership positions don’t seem to get that), 2. the park’s wilderness back-country (most of the park is wilderness, but most people only experience the park from the road) and 3. making Lassen Volcanic National Park a center for scientific research.
Lassen has a long history of natural science from John Muir and William Brewer in the 19th century, to the great geologic pioneers of the early 20th century, people like Joseph Diller and Howell Williams, through guys like Mike Clynne and Patrick Muffler today.
The USGS has a long tradition of research in the park because of the volcanic activity from 1914-17, and the incredible variety of volcanic and hydrothermal features in the park. NASA has also become a major player in the park — researching the extremeophiles that live in the geothermal waters. There are microbes in those pools living in hot, highly acidic waters that may provide analogs to life beyond Earth and the the first life forms found on this planet. So for scientists, Lassen is an ideal natural laboratory, but the park has limited facilities for them to utilize it fully.
Hopefully, under Steve’s steady leadership, that will change in the future.
