[1] She was also the first woman to become both a senior scientist as a civil servant of the US government and to be director for a national research laboratory.

She acquired this love for the environment by allotting most of her free time to outdoor activities including swimming and climbing.

During this time, until 1943, she postponed her doctoral program and worked as a volunteer editor and junior biologist at Patuxent.

Stickel returned to her doctoral degree at the University of Michigan in 1943, when her husband was drafted into World War II.

During her time at Patuxent as junior biologist, she became interested in the box turtle populations and their home range relationships.

She initiated annual studies of this turtle population, and this effort has continued into the present day, amassing over eight decades of data.

She wrote the chapter, "Pesticide Residues in Birds and Mammals," in the book series, Environmental Science Research.

In addition, the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center renamed a chemistry and physiology lab after her and her husband.

[9] She was married to William Henson Stickel, also a member of the US Fish and Wildlife Service and a herpetologist.

For many happy years, the Stickels would support the local land conservation efforts while also identifying the different types of flora and fauna that was located on their property and near the area.