Exploring Varied Federal Environments in North Carolina
This column is brought to you by the Senior Executives Association (SEA), the professional association for career members of the Senior Executive Service (SES) and equivalent positions. SEA membership is also open to all GS 12-15s.
Huey and I commenced a new leg of our journey by heading south. After spending a (very cold) night in Maryland and a (very cold and slightly snowy) night in Virginia, we made it to the state of North Carolina.
Our first federal destination was the Uwharrie National Forest, under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Forest Service. We set up camp at the Arrowhead Campground, which is located in the Badin Lake Recreation Area within the forest. Even in the middle of January, there were a few other people enjoying the quiet of lakeside camping. We saw several groups of fishermen launching their boats. The forest offers opportunities for hiking, fishing, and swimming (during warmer months), as well as equestrian and ATV-accessible trails.
Huey surveys Badin Lake from a public dock.
Huey and I alternated between huddling inside our camper for warmth and exploring the trails that wend through the forest. We spotted a variety of avian wildlife on our hikes. Luckily, Huey tends to ignore birds, so I was able to observe them in peace. However, I have yet to master the art of wildlife photography while keeping a hand on Huey’s leash, so I was unable to capture any good pictures of birds.
Huey and I have previously visited the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire, so I enjoyed comparing the characteristics of the forests. The Uwharrie National Forest is in the Piedmont region of North Carolina. We saw plenty of examples of the classic clay-like soil that characterizes the region in the roots of fallen trees. While most of the trees in the forest were bare for the winter, we saw splotches of green in holly and pine trees. Unfortunately, Huey has a penchant for doing his business in holly trees, meaning I got a few pokes trying to clean up after him.
Huey poses amongst the deciduous trees and the holly trees.
From the forest, we headed northwest to the Raleigh-Durham area. We had an appointment to visit the Environmental Protection Agency’s facility in Research Triangle Park. I was quite excited to visit the campus, but my plans were foiled when the security guards at the front gate noticed Huey and refused to let him in. Apparently, the facility does not allow pets at all. I never bring him in to federal buildings, but he was forbidden even from staying in the RV in the parking lot. The guards generously allowed me the option to leave Huey tied up outside the gate (by himself—not in my vehicle), but I declined. It takes Huey approximately three seconds to escape from being tied up, which would then mean the guards would have to wrangle with a loose dog. They didn’t seem to register that the RV is my home, making it practically impossible for me to leave Huey somewhere else and come back later. Nonetheless, rules are rules, so we had to come up with Plan B.
Dr. Michael Slimak, the National Program Director of the Sustainable and Healthy Communities Research Program, graciously agreed to meet me at a nearby coffee shop, and the day was saved. Dr. Slimak has worked at the EPA for 42 years, giving him plenty of perspective with which to reflect on his time in government. His unwavering commitment to the mission of the EPA—to protect the environment—has kept him at the agency for so long.
The EPA’s Office of Research and Development has six research programs, of which Sustainable and Healthy Communities (SHC) is one. The SHC employs 400 people in North Carolina, D.C., Ohio, Rhode Island, Georgia, Oregon, Florida, Oklahoma, and Minnesota. The SHC focuses on three areas to further its mission to explore the links between the environment and public health. The three areas are: cleanup of contaminated sites, waste and materials management, and—what Slimak views as the most intriguing—resilient communities. The SHC studies the social and environmental factors that impact communities dealing with the aftermath of contamination and natural disasters.
The EPA shares its Research Triangle Park campus with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). According to Slimak, aside from sharing a beautiful campus on opposite shores of a small lake, the two organizations share ideas and personnel. The NIEHS has a large budget and issues many grants while maintaining a smaller staff of federal scientists, while the EPA’s research is conducted by a larger proportion of federal employees.
The EPA's beautiful campus in Research Triangle Park, which we didn't get to see. (Photo courtesy of Michael Slimak)
Slimak mentioned his passion for fulfilling the mission of the EPA multiple times over the course of our interview. He sees being a federal employee as not only a job, but also a service to his fellow citizens. Like many federal agencies, the EPA has a more senior workforce. Slimak notices more people splitting their careers between the private sector, NGOs, and government, as opposed to his path of working exclusively in government. He has also noticed that with the advent of compressed work schedules and telework options, the younger generations seem to have a better work/life balance than he did earlier in his career. Slimak described working 60-70 hours per week when he worked in the field collecting water samples from all over the country. He spent many years in the D.C. area doing administrative work but moved down to North Carolina because he wanted to end his career in research.
Slimak said that the hardest part of his job is distilling down complex information for the average citizen to understand. He believes that if more people understood how the research conducted by the EPA affects their surroundings, there would be less pushback against environmental regulations. He recalled his work to protect small, unnavigable streams not protected under the Clean Water Act. When he was able to explain the science surrounding a proposed redefinition of “Waters of the United States” to protect small streams, landowners who had been wary of further regulation agreed with the premise of the new protections. The rule was implemented in 2015, but was undone in 2019.
As he wraps up his career, Slimak, without hesitation, said his legacy is the many people he has hired over the years. He has had a hand in bringing around 100 people to the EPA. He has mentored them and watched them grow. While not all of those 100 people have remained with the agency, Slimak has confidence in the next generation of environmental leaders. He has also bestowed his passion for environmental stewardship on his daughter and grandson.
Huey and I wrapped up our time in North Carolina in the southeastern corner of the state. I spent an afternoon in Wilmington, where I saw the Alton Lennon Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse. The building was built between 1916-1919 and was entered on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. Significant interior water damage due to Hurricane Florence closed the building in 2018. Luckily, none of the building’s historic features were irreparably damaged and a restoration project is underway with the hopes of reopening the site in summer 2024.
The Alton Lennon Federal Building in Wilmington spans nearly a block.
I also visited the Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson State Historic Site on the Cape Fear River. Brunswick was a colonial town destroyed by the British in 1776 and never rebuilt. Visitors can explore remnants of a church and foundations of houses in the village. The site is protected by the Archeological Resources Protection Act, a federal law. Supreme Court Justice Alfred Moore’s grandfather founded the town, and he is buried there.
Archeologists have uncovered stone foundations of the houses that once made up Brunswick Town.
The site also preserves Fort Anderson, a Confederate fort built during the Civil War. Union forces took the fort during a battle in February 1865.
Huey and I experienced a wide range of environments in North Carolina. During the few weeks we were in the state, we faced below-freezing temperatures and days with highs in the seventies. We drove through rural farmland surrounding the Uwharrie Forest, suburban sprawl surrounding Research Triangle Park, and urban streets in Wilmington. We (tried to) visit the most modern of research facilities and saw the remains of a colonial settlement from over 200 years ago. We followed the trail of federal government involvement through all of these environments. I continue to be amazed at the vast scope of federal influence, which oversees the history and the future innovations coming out of North Carolina.
You can follow our journey in this column and by checking out our Huey-centric Instagram page @federalfifty. Please send us any comments or suggestions for future stops here.
The Senior Executives Association is a Proud Sponsor of The Federal Fifty Journey.
SEA is not only the voice of career leaders through a strong advocacy program, it also empowers senior leaders across government by providing the tools, resources and connections they need to succeed.
If you are a current or aspiring federal leader in any state, consider joining SEA today to ensure you can transform government for the 21st Century!