NPS PHOTO

Jonathan B. Jarvis

Jonathan B. Jarvis became the 18th Director of the National Park Service on October 2, 2009. A career ranger who began as a seasonal interpreter in 1976 in Washington, Jarvis leads an agency that preserves and manages nearly 400 national parks that include some of the nation's most treasured landscapes and cultural icons.

"National parks are a gift from past generations to this and succeeding generations," Jarvis said. "My core responsibilities are to protect these landscapes, serve park visitors, and support community programs.

"Today's challenges could not have been imagined when the agency was established in 1916. We deal with climate change, urban development, habitat destruction, non-native species, and air and water pollution. Our mission remains the same today as it was then - to preserve this nation's natural and cultural heritage, unimpaired for the enjoyment of this and future generations," he said.

"The extraordinary employees of the National Park Service are my inspiration and where I draw my strength," Jarvis said. "Their welfare and safety will always be my top priority. These men and women handle day-to-day operation of the parks and the work of our community assistance programs. These employees and 140,000 amazing volunteers are the ones who empty the trash, rescue the lost, clear the trails, help communities, sample the air and water, and tell our compelling stories."

Prior to taking the helm of the National Park Service, Jarvis was director of the Pacific West Region of 58 parks in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, Nevada, Hawaii and the Pacific Islands of Guam, Saipan and American Samoa.

He moved up through the National Park Service as a protection ranger, a resource management specialist, park biologist, and chief of natural and cultural resources at parks such as Prince William Forest Park in Virginia, Guadalupe Mountains National Park in Texas, Crater Lake National Park in Oregon and North Cascades National Park in Washington.

His first superintendent position was at Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho. He later served as superintendent of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve in Alaska then became superintendent of Mount Rainier National Park. In 2001 he completed the Harvard Kennedy School Executive Program and the Department of the Interior Senior Executive Service Candidate Program. He was named director of the Pacific West Region in September 2002.

Jarvis is a former president of the George Wright Society, a professional organization focused on science and management of protected lands around the world. He has published and lectured on the role of science in parks at conferences and workshops around the U.S. His background also includes development of government-to-government relations with Native American tribes, gateway community planning, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission relicensing, major facility design and construction, wilderness management and general management planning.

A native of Lexington, Virginia, Jarvis has a B.S. in biology from the College of William and Mary and completed the Harvard Kennedy School Executive Program in 2001. He and his wife Paula have two children, Benjamin and Leah.