Brian Carlstrom Named Superintendent of Biscayne National Park

Date: January 30, 2013
Contact: Bill Reynolds , 404-507-5612

ATLANTA - Acting Southeast Regional Director Gordon Wissinger announced that Brian Carlstrom has been selected as the next Superintendent of Biscayne National Park. Carlstrom has been the Deputy Superintendent at Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Canal, headquartered in Hagerstown, Md., since 2009. He will begin his new duties in mid-March.

"We are very pleased that Brian is coming to the Southeast Region," Wissinger said. He is a strong leader who brings a wealth of knowledge, skills, and experience to Biscayne. He understands the importance of working with community leaders and will continue to build on the excellent relationships the park has with its surrounding communities."

Carlstrom has more than 20 years of National Park Service experience. He began his career in 1985 at the George Washington Memorial Parkway in Virginia as a seasonal laborer and later worked as a seasonal ranger at National Capital Parks East in Washington, D.C., and, again, at George Washington Memorial Parkway.

In 1990, Carlstrom joined the United States Park Police as an Administrative Assistant in Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C. In 1991 he became the lead ranger for resources management at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, near Vienna, Va.

Carlstrom served as a Natural Resource Planner at the National Park Service's Denver Service Center from 1992 to 1998, and as a Senior Geographic Information Systems Analyst for the Intermountain Regional Office in Denver. In 2002 he became the Chief of Resources Management at Prince William Forest Park, near Manassas, Va.

Prior to becoming deputy superintendent of C&O Canal, Carlstrom served as its Chief of Resource Management, where he was responsible for supervising an integrated natural and cultural resource program. He has also served as acting deputy superintendent at Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and asacting superintendent at Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming.

From 2005 to 2007 Carlstrom served as a Bevinetto Congressional Fellow in the National Park Service's Washington Office, a two-year developmental assignment, first working as a staff member for the Senate Subcommittee on National Parks, and later working in the Office of Legislative and Congressional Affairs.

Carlstrom has a bachelor of science degree in parks and recreation (1989) andgraduate course work in environmental sciences and public policy from George MasonUniversity. He is a 2001 graduate of the executive leadership program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Graduate School. He and his wife, Laura, enjoy pursuing a variety of recreational activities in the great outdoors with their four grown children.

"Biscayne National Park has an amazing array of resources and is truly a gem of theNational Park System," Carlstrom said. "It is a park deeply loved and appreciated by generations of visitors. It is served by passionate and talented staff, volunteers and concession operators, and actively supported by its partners and the greater Miami area. For all these reasons I am honored for the privilege to serve as Biscayne's Superintendent."