Veteran National Park Service employee chosen as new Mount Rainier superintendent

The National Parks Services’ current acting deputy regional director will take over as the superintendent of Mount Rainier National Park beginning in July, according to a NPS news release.

Greg Dudgeon will replace current superintendent Chip Jenkins, who has been in the role since 2018.

Dudgeon started volunteering for NPS in 1983 at Glacier Bay National Park. As a volunteer, Dudgeon worked with a whale biologist at the park to photograph the flukes of humpback whales, according to the release. He has since worked as a seasonal biological technician, an interpretive ranger and commissioned ranger.

Dudgeon went on to be chief ranger for Bering Land Bridge National Preserve in 1996. He was later asked to be chief ranger at Cape Krusenstern National Monument, Kobuk Valley National Park and Noatak National Preserve in 1998, according to the release.

From 2001 to 2003, Dudgeon held his first superintendent position at NPS. He was superintendent of Hovenweep and Natural Bridges national monuments before returning to Alaska as the superintendent of Sitka National Historical Park, according to the release. He was also superintendent of Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve and Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve in 2007 before taking on the role of acting deputy regional director.

As acting deputy regional director, Dudgeon oversees the management of 15 national parks, preserves, monuments and national historical parks in Alaska, according to the release. He will reside near Mount Rainier with his wife in the new role.

“I am grateful for the many remarkable places I’ve experienced and people I’ve worked with over the years because they have helped prepare me for this exceptional opportunity to join the accomplished, professional team at Mount Rainier National Park,” Dudgeon said in the release. “At Mount Rainier we have the opportunity and privilege to preserve a tapestry of natural, cultural, and historic treasures that will inspire people tomorrow just as the park does today.”

This story was originally published June 16, 2021 at 5:00 AM.