Leslie Glasgow, the assistant United States Secretary of the Interior in the administration of U. S. President Richard M. Nixon, chose young Barham to work at Glacier National Park in northernmost Montana. Earlier, Glasgow had been a reform director of the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission (1966–1968) and a biology professor at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. Barham told the "Monroe News-Star" that his experience at Glacier park was "amazing. I was mentored by people like my dad and (Glasgow), who knew the importance of our natural resources. Louisiana has of Wildlife Management Areas.