ERIN STEVA
MONTANA CONSERVATION ASSOCIATE
Erin focuses on conserving key public lands, protecting Montana’s free-flowing rivers, supporting grizzly bear coexistence work and research, and improving habitat connectivity. She enjoys being a bit of a GYC Swiss army knife, engaging in many aspects of programmatic work throughout the GYE.
A Virginia native, Erin grew up at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Charlottesville and attended college a bit further down the road in a little town called Blacksburg, Virginia (Go Hokies!). After leaving behind careers in the wine industry and biotechnology, she spent some time exploring other corners of the world and monitoring endangered species in South Africa. Upon her return to the states and in search of change, she headed west in 2019 to pursue a life outdoors leading trail crews with Montana Conservation Corps and later with the National Park Service in Yellowstone National Park.
First Job: Working in the vines and the wine lab on a small family vineyard in Virginia.
Favorite Season in Greater Yellowstone: Fall. The foliage, campfires (when there’s no fire ban), and frisky wildlife. There’s also something about the outside of a golden aspen that’s good for the inside of a human.
An Interesting Fact About Greater Yellowstone: Speaking specifically about Yellowstone National Park, which makes up a large portion of the GYE, the majority of people that visit and stick to the roads only see about 3 percent of the park. That leaves another 97 percent that most people never wander into – that's a lot of wild space to see and chances are you’ll have some of it all to yourself!