NPS Photo

New Bandelier Superintendent, Brad Traver

DENVER – Brad Traver, a 26-year veteran of the National Park Service (NPS) has been named Superintendent at Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico, according to Intermountain Region Director Mike Snyder. Traver will assume his new responsibilities effective January 20, 2008. He replaces former superintendent Darlene Koontz, who accepted the superintendency position at Lassen Volcanic National Park in California.

“Brad has the experience, the skill sets and all the ability to do an outstanding job at Bandelier,” said Snyder.

Traver, a native of Princeton, Massachusetts, is the superintendent of Tonto National Monument, in Arizona. He has spent parts of the last 16 months serving in interim assignments at Big Bend and Petrified Forest National Parks, as acting superintendent. He began his NPS career in 1979 as a seasonal surveyor for the Denver Service Center (DSC) assigned at Yellowstone National Park, spending several years there supervising construction projects. He accepted a position at Grand Canyon National Park in 1986 and was instrumental in the drafting and implementation of the park’s 1995 General Management Plan. While there, he held many positions including project supervisor, park engineer, chief of professional services, and manager of the park’s General Management Plan implementation team.

"I'm thrilled to be selected for this position,” said Traver. “I look forward to working with the professional and dedicated staff at Bandelier National Monument, the community of Los Alamos, the Los Alamos National Laboratory, and the Pueblos of Northern New Mexico, as well as the park’s partners with great anticipation.”

Traver holds a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, Massachusetts. He and his wife, Denise, enjoy hiking and look forward to exploring their new environment.

As Superintendent at Bandelier National Monument Traver will manage 33,677 acres, an annual operating budget of more than $2.7 million, and a staff of approximately 80, including the regional historic preservation crew. The Monument preserves ancestral Pueblo dwellings from the mid-1500s and earlier, 23,000 acres of designated wilderness, and dozens of historic structures and trails.