WYOMING — Former superintendent of Grand Teton National Park David Vela—once tapped by President Trump to head the National Park Service—has now been selected for a temporary, reduced role in the agency.
Buckrail has obtained an internal email from acting NPS director Dan Smith that states Vela has been appointed Acting Deputy Director of Operations effective yesterday. Vela takes over for Ray Sauvajot, who was filling in for Rick Obernesser, who retired recently.
The musical chairs of a sort began with the Trump administration more than two years ago. The NPS has been without a director since January 2017 when Jon Jarvis left the position. Smith has been filling the role since January 2018. Vela himself has been left in the lurch for nearly eight months as he awaited confirmation for the director job. During that time, Vela was technically still the super for GTNP but the job has in reality been performed by Gopaul Noojibail in an interim role.
David knows and loves the National Park Service,” Smith stated to his staff in the email. “Many of you have already worked with David and seen his leadership in action. Those of you who haven’t will quickly see how important our workforce is to him. We will all benefit from his leadership in building a next generation workforce that will protect our national treasures and serve all who will come to enjoy the parks as we chart a path forward for a second century service.”
Vela’s appointment gives the department three deputy directors but still no permanent director. Smith said he will continue on in his interim role as acting deputy director of the NPS for now.
