News Release

Voyageurs National Park Announces Personnel Changes

Date: December 15, 2021
Contact: Tawnya Schoewe, 218 283 6670

INTERNATIONAL FALLS, MN: Voyageurs National Park is excited to share new staff arrivals. 
Starting October 11, 2021, Greg Carlson is the Fire Management Specialist for eight parks from eastern Montana to Michigan and is stationed at Voyageurs. He serves Voyageurs National Park, Keweenaw National Historical Park, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Grand Portage National Monument, Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, Isle Royale National Park, Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site, and Fort Union National Historic Post. Greg started working with the National Park Service at Voyageurs in 2001-2006. Since that time, he has worked for the Bureau of Land Management in Wyoming and for the National Park Service at Ozark National Scenic Riverways in Missouri. Greg is excited to be back home and working at Voyageurs.
On November 7, 2021, Melyssa Johnson started her new role as the Lead Archaeologist and Section 106 Coordinator at Voyageurs National Park.   Melyssa has been working as an archaeologist for over 10-years. Recently employed as the cultural resources lead at Petrified Forest National Park. She received her bachelor’s degree in archaeological studies from the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse and completed her master’s degree in anthropology with a focus in public archaeology at the University of New Mexico in 2016. Her primary interests in archaeology includes peopling of the new world and zooarchaeology, the focus in her career has been to develop strategies to protect and conserve archaeological and historic resources.
Starting November 15, 2021 Josh Wentz became the park’s new Senior Law Enforcement Officer for the Visitor and Resource Protection Team. Josh is originally from Gary, MN where he grew up on a family farm and attended college at the University of Minnesota - Crookston. There, he obtained his degree in Natural Resources Law Enforcement. Josh has worked for the National Park Service for the past 14 years, most recently coming from Theodore Roosevelt National Park and Yosemite National Park. Josh has also worked at Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area, Zion, Guadalupe Mountains, Petrified Forest, Yellowstone, and Kenai Fjords National Parks. Josh is excited to be back in Minnesota and is looking forward to becoming part of the park and the community.
Also starting on November 15, 2021 is Breanna Trygg the new Education and Outreach Director with Voyageurs Conservancy. The park is pleased to announce the Education program is now a joint effort between the Conservancy and the park. Breanna will be planning, in conjunction with the park, and assisting with on the ground education programming. Breanna attended the University of Puget Sound for her undergraduate degree, and has a masters in Organizational Leadership from the Organization Systems Renewal Program at Pinchot University. Breanna began her career at the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, then served as Program Director at Pacific Education Institute, an environmental education organization that focused on school-community partnerships. In 2015, she started Trygg Consulting, LLC, and worked for the last 6-years with nonprofits, government, education organizations, and multi-stakeholder initiatives to build their capacity to do great work. Breanna has been volunteering with grieving children for over 18-years, and considers grief support her “heart work”. After many years of volunteering at Sound Care Kids and Camp Erin, Breanna became a founding board member of Wild Grief, and is the current board president, where she can combine her passions of supporting grieving kids and connecting to nature. Breanna grew up in Minnesota, spending time in the woods and waters as much as possible, especially at her family’s cabin in Voyageurs National Park. At 18 she moved to Washington state but has recently moved back to Minnesota this fall to be closer to family.The Voyageurs Conservancy is the official charitable partner of Voyageurs National Park. Established in 1965, the Conservancy was the driving force to permanently protect the Rainy, Kabetogama, Namakan, and Sand Point region of northern Minnesota. Today, the Voyageurs Conservancy is a community of people dedicated to preserving, protecting, and sharing the unique experience of Minnesota’s national park. The organization is a 501c3 nonprofit that works directly with the National Park Service to support conservation and recreation projects, advance education and outreach, and protect the wild nature of the park. It continues to connect people to the outdoors where they can learn, volunteer, and recreate, while preserving the park for future generations.
These organizational changes represent a strong management potential to enhance our positive relationship our visitors and communities by increasing our commitment to education, law enforcement, and resource management.