Former Mount Rainier Superintendent nominated as National Park System Director

Mount Rainier National Park's former Superintendent, Jon Jarvis, has been nominated by the Obama administration to direct the National Park Service.  It has been rumored since February that Jarvis would receive the nomination, and the administration made it official on July 10.

Jarvis began his career in the National Park Service in 1976, rising through the ranks to head not only Mount Rainier, but Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Craters of the Moon National Monument.  He was the Chief of Natural and Cultural Resources at North Cascades National Park, where he directed biological research and planning on more than 684,000 acres.  If he is confirmed, Jarvis will leave his position as Regional Director for the Pacific West for the other Washington.

His confirmation may not be completely smooth--Jarvis has disagreed with California Senator Diann Feinstein over the siting of an Oyster Farm at Point Reyes National Seashore, claiming that the proposal was in conflict with uses allowed in potential Wilderness.

In my experience, Jarvis has always worked hard at reaching out to Park stakeholders, and approaches his work with a strong sense of the agencies setting within communities.  At the same time, his paramount concern is the biological integrity of the system.  Should he be confirmed by the Senate, it will be interesting to watch him balance those priorities.