News Release

Ray McPadden selected as Superintendent for Western Arctic National Parklands

Date: April 6, 2022
Contact: Peter Christian

Man smiling
Ray McPadden

NPS Photo

ANCHORAGE, AK— National Park Service employee Ray McPadden has been selected as superintendent for Western Arctic National Parklands. McPadden, who currently serves as the Program Manager for Environmental Quality at Yellowstone National Park, has worked for the NPS for over a decade and is a decorated U.S. Army veteran.

“We are very excited to have a professional of Ray’s caliber and experience at Western Arctic National Parklands,” said Alaska Regional Director Sarah Creachbaum. “Ray’s work with tribes at Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, and his love of the Alaska outdoors makes him an especially good fit.”

While at Yellowstone, McPadden has worked on the park's most challenging issues including bison management, growing visitation, winter use, telecommunications, thermal area protection, and ~$200 million in infrastructure improvements. Ray recently completed acting assignments as superintendent of Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area and Powder River Parks, and as Division Lead for Resource Management and Science at Yellowstone. Ray has also worked as a backcountry ranger and community planner.

“I fell in love with Alaska while attending mountaineering school with the U.S. Army outside Fort Greely. It is an honor to return to the state as superintendent of Western Arctic National Parklands,” said McPadden. “I look forward to working with park staff and partners and learning from the Iñupiat people and communities of Northwest Alaska. This is an amazing opportunity to manage world-class resources, intact ecosystems, and to support a rich tradition of subsistence culture,” McPadden said.

Prior to his NPS career, Ray was an Army Ranger serving in the elite 2nd Ranger Battalion. During four combat tours he was decorated for valor and wounded in action. Ray holds an executive certificate in Leadership from Harvard University, a Masters in Community and Regional Planning from the University of Oregon and a Bachelor of Science from Texas A&M.

Ray will move to Kotzebue in late May, which is the headquarters of the three units of Western Arctic National Parklands: Noatak National Preserve, Cape Krusenstern National Monument, and Kobuk Valley National Park. Ray will be joined by his wife Elizabeth and two children and looks forward to fishing, skiing and learning the subsistence way of life in the Western Arctic.

 



Last updated: April 6, 2022

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