JACKSON HOLE, WYO – True to his word Yellowstone superintendent Dan Wenk will retire at the park he loves so rather than accept a desk job in Washington with the National Park Service.
Amid rumors he was to be transferred, Wenk told reporters more than a month ago he didn’t want to leave his post at Yellowstone National Park. Today, he announced his retirement effective March 30, 2019.
Wenk will have more than 43 years of public service dedicated to the national park system by the time he steps down.
“I’ve had an amazing career with the National Park Service,” Wenk said. “It is an honor and a privilege to preserve national park resources and provide incredible visitor experiences, and I’m not done yet. I’m in the midst of several important projects that I will finish before I depart to ensure the smoothest transition for Yellowstone.”
Wenk says he still has work to do. Over his remaining tenure he will focus on implementing the bison quarantine program by sending live animals to the tribes at Fort Peck, collect data and developing community support for the long-term visitor use management planning effort, negotiate concessions contracts, manage transboundary wildlife issues, and work with park staff to improve workplace culture.
As the current superintendent of Yellowstone National Park since 2011, Wenk manages more than 2.2 million acres, a staff of 800, and an annual budget of more than $60 million.
Wenk previously served as Deputy Director of Operations for the National Park Service in Washington D.C. from 2007 through 2011. He served as acting director of the National Park Service for nine months in 2009. In these national roles, Wenk received the Department of the Interior Secretary’s Executive Leadership Award and the Presidential Rank Award.
Wenk’s career with the National Park Service began in 1975 as a landscape architect. He was named superintendent of Mount Rushmore National Memorial in 1985 where he served for 16 years. In 2001, he was appointed the director of the Denver Service Center, which is the National Park Service’s central office with responsibility for planning, design and construction.
