Sean McGuinness Named Superintendent of Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River

Date: December 23, 2009
Contact: Phil Sheridan, Northeast Regional Office, 215-597-0865
Contact: Paula S. Valentine, Fire Island National Seashore, 631-687-4759
Contact: Loren Goering, Upper Delaware Scenic & Recreational River, 570-729-7574

Philadelphia – National Park Service Northeast Regional Director Dennis R. Reidenbach has named Sean J. McGuinness as the new superintendent of Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River. McGuinness, currently deputy superintendent at Fire Island National Seashore on Long Island, New York, will assume his new post in February, 2010. He succeeds former superintendent Vidal Martinez, who was selected as Prince William Forest Park’s superintendent in October 2009.

"Sean has been an energetic force at Fire Island National Seashore," said Reidenbach. "He worked collaboratively with the 17 Fire Island communities within park boundaries, and helped usher in several new programs and projects in his current position. We look forward to his contributions to Upper Delaware."

"I'm looking forward to the wide variety of recreational opportunities available along the Upper Delaware, as well as the area's rich cultural and natural history," said McGuinness. "Working with the local communities in the river valley to help maintain the integrity of these resources will be very rewarding."

McGuinness began his NPS career in 1977 as a seasonal river patrol park ranger at Grand Teton National Park. After a season as a forester in Tongass National Forest, and several seasons as a law enforcement ranger at Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve in Alaska, McGuinness began his permanent career at Natchez Trace Parkway, Mississippi, in 1987.

He was selected for more responsible positions at Crater Lake National Park, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, and Mojave National Preserve, where he was the Chief Ranger until 2003. He completed a two-year assignment in the Department of the Interior, Washington Office, with the Office of Law Enforcement and Security. McGuinness was selected as Fire Island National Seashore's deputy superintendent in July, 2005.

A native New Yorker, McGuinness was born in Buffalo and grew up in Lake View, New York, a small town on the shore of Lake Erie. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from New York State College at Fredonia in 1977. McGuinness' interests include paragliding, backcountry travel, sailing, family and friends.

Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River, which is a part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, conserves, protects, and interprets 56,000 acres of land bordering the Upper Delaware River in a 74-mile long corridor. The area is managed cooperatively with local governments through the Upper Delaware Council and other partner organizations, with over 85 percent of the area privately owned.

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