Bailey, Kenneth
Ken Bailey
Ken Bailey is a citizen of the Muscogee Nation of Oklahoma. Bailey is a renowned scientist and expert in remote sensing and geospatial information technology. He has worked in numerous federal departments utilizing remote sensing and mapping to advance tribal protection of natural resources.
“I like to think I’m making a difference…making things better for others.” - Kenneth Bailey, 2005.
Bailey, K. 2018. Outdoor Air Emissions, Land Use, and Land Cover around Schools on Tribal Lands. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 16(1):36 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph16010036
Barros, N., Tulve, N., Heggem, D. & Bailey, K. 2018. Review of built and natural environment stressors impacting American-Indian/Alaska-Native children. Reviews on Environmental Health, 33(4), 349-381. https://doi.org/10.1515/reveh-2018-0034
Bailey, K.D., Frohn, R.C. 2001 Native View: A Gateway to Earth for Native Americans. Journal of the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. 67(2).
Bailey, K.D., Frohn, R.C., Beck, R.A., Price, M.W., (2001). Remote Sensing Analysis of Wild Rice Production Using Landsat 7 for the Leech Lake Band of Chippewa in Minnesota. Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing. 87(2). 0099-1112/01/6702-18
Bailey, K., Beck, R., Frohn, R., Pleva, D., Plumer, D., Price, M., Krute, R., Ramos, C., South, R. (2001) Native American Remote Sensing Distance Education Prototype (NARSDEP). Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing. 87(2).
Ken Bailey was born in 1955 in Northern Ohio. He is the oldest of three children born to Bobbye, a housewife, and Lloyd Bailey, a business owner. Bailey and his family lived very close to Lake Erie. From an early age, Bailey witnessed the pollution of Lake Erie by the surrounding factories, which impacted him as a child and later influenced his career decision to work in the environmental field. By age 8, Bailey was conducting experiments with his own chemistry set.
Bailey began his college education at the University of Tulsa as a pre-medical student. As an undergraduate, he studied biological oxygen demand and natural water systems. Bailey was fascinated by this subject and soon decided to expand his studies into other environmental sciences further. Bailey later transferred to the University of Cincinnati, graduating with a Bachelor’s in environmental science in 1997. In 2004, he graduated from Miami University of Ohio with a Master’s degree in environmental science, focusing on remote sensing technology.
Bailey started his environmental career in 2001 as an intern with Environmental Careers Organization at the Bureau of Land Management. He was a project coordinator for their Falcon-Gonder Project, funded by Sierra Pacific Power Company (SPPC) in Reno, Nevada. The project aimed to improve SPPC’s electrical import and export system capabilities to allow SPPC to import more power from Utah and Idaho and export it to Nevada and California. Bailey helped monitor this project’s environmental impact.
In 2002, Bailey went to work for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) in Sacramento, CA, as a regional endangered species coordinator in their Pacific Regional Office. Later that year, he was transferred to the Eastern Region of the BIA. While there, he became the natural resource specialist and worked in that position for two years. During his tenure as the regional natural resources specialist, he developed and promoted a program entitled “Tribal Master Planning” to help the tribes to plan for the future and manage their resources more effectively. He originally developed the idea while working in California. After transferring to the Eastern Region of the BIA, he promoted the idea to the tribes while visiting the reservations and through presentations at the United South and Eastern Tribes (USET) gatherings. His presentations worked, and soon the program began.
In 2007, Bailey worked as a geospatial liaison for NASA and the Department of the Interior. Thereafter, he worked in the Office of the Secretary of the Department of the Interior as the Geospatial Information Technology Specialist and community development officer. The Office of the Secretary (OS) adopted Tribal Master Planning as a national initiative and dubbed it “community development.” Bailey was responsible for overseeing the initiative, developing a budget for the program, and working through the OS with other federal agencies to make it a reality for the tribes. Participation from the tribes is strictly voluntary.
In 2020, Bailey worked with the EPA’s Tribal Science Council on a web-based geospatial tool called “Tribal-Focused Environmental, Risk, and Sustainability Tool” or Tribe-FERST. His work supports the advancement of health and safety for tribes in the United States. Bailey’s remote sensing and government career included serving as the Geospatial Information Technology Specialist and Community Development Officer in the Office of the Secretary of the Department of the Interior. Bailey also was the President of Native American Remote Sensing Incorporated (NARSINC). Bailey has since retired from his federal scientist roles.
Bailey’s greatest career highlight has been implementing the “Tribal Master Planning” program. He is especially proud of his ability to do work that makes a positive impact on the tribal communities that he works with. Overall, he says that working with them has been a true joy.
As a minority environmental professional, Bailey has noticed that there are very few opportunities for minorities to advance in the environmental field. It is dominated by people of European descent. This is disappointing to him because he knows how important environmental issues are to people of color. Despite this observation, however, Bailey remains optimistic. He is proud of his accomplishments and hopes to make bigger strides in his profession for his sake as well as for the sake of other minorities who will go into environmental careers. Thus, Bailey continues to work in the environmental field. “I love it. I live it and breathe it. I like to think I’m making a difference…making things better for others” (2016).
Although Bailey has received helpful advice and encouragement from many people throughout the years, he recognizes that there are two people who have inspired him the most. The first person is his grandfather. He taught Bailey about the land ethic and the importance of appreciating the earth. The second person to influence him was Dr. Gene Willike. Dr. Willike was the Director of the Institute of Environment Sciences at Miami University of Ohio. He taught Bailey that while it is important to understand the problems that plague the earth, it is also necessary to create solutions to those problems. Dr. Willike believed that man must be responsible in his use of natural resources. Bailey says that the guidance he has gained from his grandfather and Dr. Willike is reflected in his work today.
Bailey is not currently a mentor, but he does have advice to give to young minorities who are considering a career in the environmental field. He advises them to take as many physical, social, and environmental sciences as they can. “They should do this so that they can understand the human psyche of environmental work” (2016). Bailey believes an extreme left and right exists in the environmental field. And the only way one can accomplish anything in this field is to be firmly in the middle ground. “To do that, you must know the sciences” (2016). He also advises young students to study remote sensing. “It helped me to look at resources and management in a whole new light” (2016). Bailey’s advice to young people considering science is to study math and a variety of scientific fields. Follow your dreams and find internships to help affirm your career choices.
Landsat & the Intertribal Timber Council. June 7, 2007. Landsat Science. Retrieved June 16, 2023, from https://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/article/landsat-the-intertribal-timber-cou…
Interview conducted by Multicultural Environmental Leadership Development Initiative staff. 2016. University of Michigan – School of Natural Resources and Environment. Ann Arbor, MI.
Meet EPA Scientist Ken Bailey, M.En. (n.d.). Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved June 16, 2023, from https://archive.epa.gov/epa/sciencematters/meet-epa-scientist-ken-bailey…
Taylor, Dorceta (Ed.). 2005. The Paths We Thread: Profiles of the Careers of Minority Environmental Professionals. Minority Environmental Leadership Development Initiative, University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment.