Michael T. Reynolds is a career parks administrator who served as an acting director of the United States National Park Service in the first Trump administration.
Michael T. Reynolds | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Acting Director of the National Park Service | |
| In office January 3, 2017 – January 24, 2018 | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | Jonathan Jarvis |
| Succeeded by | P. Daniel Smith (Acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Alma mater | University of California, Santa Barbara (B.A.) Regis University (M.A.) |
| Occupation | National park administrator |
Early life and education
editReynolds is a third-generation National Park Service employee.[1] He spent much of his childhood at Yosemite National Park, with his mother's family working concessions there. His father was a planner at the park. His grandfather was a park ranger at Yellowstone National Park.[1][2]
Reynolds received a bachelor of arts degree in environmental studies at University of California, Santa Barbara, in 1985. He got a master’s in business administration at Regis University in Denver, Colorado.[1][3]
He was a senior executive fellow at Harvard University in the spring of 2011.[3]
Career
editAfter college, Reynolds worked as a ranger, firefighter and biologist.[2]
He served for six years as a natural resource planner for the Parks Service in Denver.[2]
He held jobs at the Curecanti National Recreation Area in Colorado, Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts in 1994, and the Mojave National Preserve in California.[3][2]
He was a resource manager, planner and division chief at Yosemite National Park.[1]
He became superintendent of Fire Island National Seashore in New York in 2004, deputy Northeast regional director of the National Park Service, and Midwest regional director of the National Park Service.[3][2]
He moved to the National Park Service’s Washington headquarters in 2014, first as a director of workforce and inclusion and then as director of operations.[1]
In 2016, he testified before a House committee to acknowledge sexual harassment at many park sites and pledged to protect workers better.[4]
National Park Service acting director
editReynolds became acting director of the Park Service in January 2017 when Jonathan Jarvis retired.[5]
Reynolds had an awkward start with President Donald Trump when the Park Service tweeted aerial photos of Trump's inauguration ceremony showing a crowd much smaller than the record-breaking crowd that Trump claimed. Trump reportedly phoned Reynolds and asked him to find new pictures.[1][6]
Reynolds helped announce new national historical landmarks including the New York State Canal System and the Eldean Covered Bridge.[7][8]
In June 2017, Reynolds reversed an Obama administration policy that had discouraged sales of bottled water at the parks.[9]
Later parks jobs
editOn January 24, 2018, Reynolds was moved out of the top parks job to lead Yosemite National Park in California. He led a staff of 800 there.[1]
On October 23, 2019, Reynolds was appointed as the National Park Service's regional director of the Department of the Interior Lower Colorado Basin, Upper Colorado Basin, and Arkansas-Rio Grande-Texas-Gulf regions. In this role he oversees 89 parks in nine states.[3]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e f g Alex, Kurtis; er (January 25, 2018). "Yosemite National Park gets new superintendent in Trump shuffle". SFGate. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e Lyle, Morgan (December 26, 2004). "Fire Island Greeting New Boss, Old Issues". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e "Mike Reynolds Named NPS Regional Director of DOI Regions 6-8 - Office of Communications (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
- ^ "Sexual harassment reportedly rampant among US national parks employees". The Guardian. Associated Press. September 23, 2016. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
- ^ Phippen, J. Weston (January 29, 2018). "Meet Your Controversial New Park Service Director". Outside Online. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
- ^ Shear, Michael D.; Haberman, Maggie (January 26, 2017). "Trump Called National Park Chief Over Twitter Post on Inaugural Crowd". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
- ^ "Canal system designated national historic landmark | News, Sports, Jobs - Leader Herald". January 13, 2017. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
- ^ "Eldean Bridge named National Historic Landmark - Troy Daily News". www.tdn-net.com. January 13, 2017. Archived from the original on June 11, 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
- ^ "Trump Administration Reverses Bottled Water Ban In National Parks". NPR.org. Retrieved June 11, 2020.