Director of the National Park Service

The director of the National Park Service of the United States is nominated by the president and requires a Senate confirmation.

List of directors of the National Park Service

Director of National Park Service
Incumbent Jessica Bowron [1] Acting   since January 20, 2025
Appointer	President of the United States
Formation	1917
First holder	Stephen T. Mather
Website	nps.gov/aboutus/director.htm

There has been 19 directors (plus several acting directors) of the National Park Service since 1917. ^{[2] [3] [4] [5]}

No.	Image	Name [6]	Term of office		Refs
			Start	End
1		Stephen Mather	May 16, 1917	January 8, 1929
2		Horace M. Albright	January 12, 1929	August 9, 1933
3		Arno B. Cammerer	August 10, 1933	August 9, 1940
4		Newton B. Drury	August 20, 1940	March 31, 1951
5		Arthur E. Demaray	April 1, 1951	December 8, 1951
6		Conrad L. Wirth	December 9, 1951	January 7, 1964
7		George B. Hartzog Jr.	January 9, 1964	December 31, 1972
8		Ronald H. Walker	January 7, 1973	January 3, 1975
9		Gary Everhardt	January 13, 1975	May 27, 1977
10		William J. Whalen III	July 5, 1977	May 13, 1980
11		Russell E. Dickenson	May 15, 1980	March 3, 1985
12		William Penn Mott Jr.	May 17, 1985	April 16, 1989
13		James M. Ridenour	April 17, 1989	January 20, 1993
14		Roger G. Kennedy	June 1, 1993	March 29, 1997	[7]
15		Robert Stanton	August 4, 1997	January 2001	[8]
16		Fran P. Mainella	July 18, 2001	October 16, 2006	[9]
17		Mary A. Bomar	October 17, 2006	January 20, 2009	[10] [11]
acting		Daniel Wenk	January 20, 2009	October 2, 2009
18		Jonathan Jarvis	October 2, 2009	January 3, 2017	[12]
acting		Michael T. Reynolds	January 3, 2017	January 24, 2018	[13]
acting		P. Daniel Smith	January 24, 2018	September 30, 2019	[13] [14]
acting		David Vela	October 1, 2019	August 7, 2020	[14] [15]
acting		Margaret Everson	August 7, 2020	January 20, 2021	[16]
acting		Shawn Benge	January 20, 2021	December 16, 2021	[17] [18]
19		Charles F. Sams III	December 16, 2021	January 20, 2025	[19] [20]
acting		Jessica Bowron	January 20, 2025	Present	[21]

See also

• History of the National Park Service
• Organization of the National Park Service

References

1. "NPS Comptroller Named Acting Director". 23 January 2025.
2. "Past Directors of the National Park Service". NPS.
3. "Directors of the National Park Service". NPS.
4. "Directors of the National Park Service". NPShistory.
5. "65th Anniversary National Park Service" (PDF). August 25, 1981. OCLC   13380897 – via NPShistory.
6. "Directors of the National Park Service". National Park Service. Archived from the original on April 7, 2015. Retrieved April 5, 2008.
7. "14th National Park Service Director Roger G. Kennedy". National Park Service.
8. "15th National Park Service Director Robert Stanton". National Park Service.
9. "16th National Park Service Director Fran P. Mainella". National Park Service.
10. Press Release: Director Bomar To Retire On Tuesday; Dave Barna, Press Office, National Park Service; January 15, 2009
11. "17th National Park Service Director Mary Bomar". National Park Service.
12. "18th National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis (U.S. National Park Service)". National Park Service. Archived from the original on February 24, 2021. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
13. Hotakainen, Rob. "Interior: Zinke juggles Park Service leadership". www.eenews.net. Archived from the original on June 10, 2020. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
14. Hotakainen, Rob. "National Parks: NPS employees ask: Where is P. Daniel Smith?". www.eenews.net. Archived from the original on June 10, 2020. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
15. Hotakainen, Rob; Doyle, Michael. "David Vela out as NPS chief; Margaret Everson to take over". E&E News. Archived from the original on January 16, 2021. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
16. "UPDATE 3 - Vela Departing As Acting National Park Service Director". National Parks Traveler. August 7, 2020.
17. "Contact Information: Mailing Addresses & Phone Numbers (U.S. National Park Service)". Archived from the original on February 28, 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
18. "Shawn Benge Named National Park Service Deputy Director of Operations". NPS. August 31, 2020.
19. "Charles Sams III becomes first Native American to head National Park Service in its 105-year history". CBS News . November 20, 2021. Archived from the original on November 23, 2021. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
20. "19th National Park Service Director Charles F. "Chuck" Sams III". National Park Service.
21. Repanshek, Kurt (January 23, 2025). "NPS Comptroller Named Acting Director". National Parks Traveler.