Announcement Concerning NPS Superintendent

received from Bruce Matthews, Executive Director, NCTA

I just got off the phone with NPS Regional Director Mike Reynolds, who informed me of a drastic change in the NPS's plans. You'll recall we were expecting to welcome Dr. Wade Vagias early in January as our new North Country/Ice Age NST Superintendent. As I understand it, Wade's formerly temporary detail to Yellowstone NP, which involved developing/implementing the Yellowstone's winter management plan, has suddenly taken on more urgency/priority within the NPS. Wade's position became permanent and that's where he is staying.

Mike Reynolds was very apologetic. He is pursuing some immediate as well as longer term options to help us get the administrative coverage we need.

I will keep you posted on further developments. Insofar as my previous request to chapter and affiliate/partner leadership to let me know of upcoming events, please do keep them coming. At the very least we will use this list to help us make staff travel decisions.

Thank you, and let me know your questions.

Contact Bruce Matthews
See New National Park Service NCNST Superintendent Named

Grand Rapids Press Article about Jeff McCusker

Jeff McCusker- NPS Manager for the NCT (photo from Andrea Ketchmark)

based on a news article in the Grand Rapids Press

Jeff McCusker joined the North Country Trail family quietly. I've had the chance to spend some time with him on several occasions, and he's a quiet guy. But don't equate that with ineffectual. Jeff is the National Park Service Manager for the North Country Trail (the past two people in that post have been Fred Szarka and Bill Menke).

With McCusker came a big change that highly benefits the NCT. Instead of being based in Madison, Wisconsin, McCusker's office is in Lowell, Michigan, where the headquarters for the North Country Trail Association are located. This arrangement should save lots of money for both the agency and the association, since they need to spend so much time working together.

Today, the Grand Rapids Press featured McCusker. He's quite the world traveler, and hard worker. Two years were spent in Morocco working for the Peace Corps. Mongolia's first national park, under the United Nations, benefited from his efforts. He's worked on trails in Gombe National Park in Tanzania, and has an upcoming trip to Mozambique to help train locals for trail building in the Gorongosa National Park.

If you've had a chance to meet Jeff, you know that he's been watching and analyzing what needs to happen to complete the NCT. He told Howard Meyerson, of the Press, "“I am optimistic. We are in the phase of trail construction where we have miles and miles of suburban and agricultural lands to get across. It’s private land, and some of it isn’t the most endearing. The big thing that has hit me since I’ve come to Michigan is the dedication of the volunteers who are building this trail. They aren’t getting paid to do it. They do it because they love the trail,”



See North Country Trail Association

New National Park Service NCNST Superintendent Named

Wade Vagias in 2004 (photo from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette )

from a news release of the National Park Service

Wade Vagias, currently the acting Management Assistant at Yellowstone National Park (NP) in Wyoming, has been named the new Superintendent for Ice Age and North Country National Scenic Trails (NST), headquartered in Madison, Wisc. He replaces Tom Gilbert, who retired from Federal service in May. Vagias will take this new position effective January 1, 2012.

“Wade’s strong partnership skill set, including his extensive work with varied stakeholder groups within and outside the Federal government, makes him an excellent choice to lead these two premiere trail systems,” said National Park Service (NPS) Midwest Regional Director Michael T. Reynolds. “We look forward to having Wade as part of our Midwest Region management team.”

Vagias has been on a detail assignment as Management Assistant at Yellowstone NP since April, focusing his efforts primarily on the park’s Winter Use Plan/Environmental Impact Statement. His home office is the Wilderness Stewardship Division in the NPS Headquarters in Washington, D.C., where his work focuses primarily on wilderness stewardship planning. Vagias serves as Co-Chair of the NPS Wilderness Character Integration Team, an 18-member team from across the Service seeking ways to integrate wilderness character into NPS planning, monitoring, and management, as guest editor for the forthcoming Wilderness Edition of Park Science, and oversees the Wilderness Fellows Program.

Prior to working for the NPS, Vagias was a post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management at Clemson University in South Carolina. He earned his Doctor of Philosophy in Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management at Clemson, where his dissertation evaluated the Leave No Trace visitor education program in three NPS units. Vagias’ professional experience includes faculty appointments with Lock Haven University and Butler County Community College, both in Pennsylvania; river ranger with the Bureau of Land Management in Maupin, Ore.; raft guide with the Nantahala Outdoor Center in Long Creek, S.C.; mountain operations at Snowbird Ski Resort in Utah; as well as research projects for the National Audubon Society and the NPS.

“I am both humbled and honored by the opportunity to work with the staff of the Ice Age and North Country Trails and the many partners that work collaboratively with the NPS to help meet the mission of these two partnership parks,” Vagias said. “Trails connect us to the land and to each other, and I look forward to strengthening these connections.”

Vagias, his wife, Jenna, their daughter, Brooke, and chocolate lab, Charlie, will be relocating to Madison this winter and look forward to integrating into the Madison community and dusting off their cross-country skis.



See North Country Trail Association
See Ordinary People, Extraordinary Deeds for a 2004 story about Vagias

Tom Gilbert Honored on Retirement

Tom & Jan Gilbert (photo by JHY)

by JHY

Although Tom Gilbert officially retired from his post as National Park Service Superintendent of the North Country National Scenic Trail in May, the association had not had a chance to honor him until the recent annual conference.

First, Tom was presented with a bronze plaque from Bill and Donna Menke. Bill had worked with Tom as the NPS Trail Manager for a number of years. The plaque reads, "Tom Gilbert in recognition and appreciation of his outstanding contributions and dedication to the North Country National Scenic Trail. National Park Service Superintendent 1981-2011." Bill instructed Tom to think of where along the trail he would like to see this placed, and Bill will do his best to arrange that.

Tom Gibert (left) receives a guitar from Bruce Matthews (photo by JHY)

The staff of the NCTA then gave Tom a new guitar. Although we haven't often seen Tom play, it's known that he likes to play and sing for his own relaxation.

Finally, with the help of contributions from a number of sources, the Gilberts were given a lifetime membership in the North Country Trail Association. Now that Tom is a private citizen he can become a member.

Since Tom is the only Superintendent the NCT has ever known, this transition really leads the trail into a new era. Pam Schuler, formerly with the Ice Age Trail, has been appointed to serve as Superintendent in an interim capacity.

Tom Gilbert Retires

Tom Gilbert (photo by JHY)

by JHY

Today marks the end of an era for the North Country Trail. For the almost 31 years since the NCT was authorized by Congress, we have had one National Park Service Manager, and that person is Tom Gilbert.

Tom's involvement with our trail begins even earlier. In the 1970's, Tom helped author the initial study of the trail, which led to its authorization by Congress in 1980. Tom also was instrumental in the development of the trail's 1982 Comprehensive Plan. It's probably safe to say that no one other person has had as much influence on the trail, both in its physical and philosophical routes.

Tom's dedication, skills, accomplishments and depth of experience have earned the admiration of his peers throughout the National Trail System, as well as the appreciation and gratitude of a multitude of volunteers and partners along the North Country Trail. He is a friend to many of us who are in love with this trail.

Today, Tom wrote:

Today is my final day. Tomorrow I will be in the ranks of the retired.

It was the dream of my life, beginning at age 12, to work for the National Park Service. The final 30 years of my federal career has been spent doing just that in a most interesting and challenging avenue--establishing and administering National Scenic and National Historic Trails. I have much to be thankful for.

Mostly I am thankful for the many good colleagues, partners, and friends I have made and enjoyed over the years and the assistance and support they have given me. I have also enjoyed working for many good supervisors who have mentored me and shown confidence in me.

I do not intend to leave my involvement with these trails "cold turkey." I will continue to be interested and involved, probably in a variety of volunteer roles, but will spend less time on trails so that I can expand my involvement in areas of life that have been waiting for my retirement.

Gilbert (center) celebrates the opening of new trail in Valley City, ND, in 2002. Congressman Earl Pomeroy cuts the ribbon while Valley City Chamber of Commerce President, Jan Stowman looks on. (photo by JHY)

Tom has been gathering documentation for years about the origins of the North Country Trail. He has written the only known history of the trail, and presented a timeline of his findings at the Annual Conference in 2004. Perhaps a book is brewing? Perhaps he'll now have time to do more walking, instead of riding a desk?

Whatever he does, we wish Tom well. We can only hope that our new manager will have half of Tom's dedication to the best interests of the North Country Trail.

See North Country Trail Association

Thanks to Volunteers from the NPS

if you like this article, click the Blip chiclet!

See National Park Service

Tax Day Tea Party Event at Fort Stanwix

Fort Stanwix, NY (photo by NPS)

compiled from several sources

The Tax Day Tea Party is a national collaborative grassroots effort of conservatives, and an event will be held on April 15, at Fort Stanwix, New York. The reconstructed Revolutionary War fort is one of the three National Park Service sites along the entire length of the trail.

The Tea Party plan is for an apolitical event with speakers from the left, right and center. Politicians can attend, but organizer, Don Jeror said, "they won’t be allowed to speak because we’ve heard everything they’ve had to say. We want them to hear what the people have to say."

Jeror's challenge: Fort Stanwix was "the only American fort never to be taken by the British during our war for independence (over taxes) and the first place the American flag flew in battle. Help us symbolically protect it from another over-taxing and over-spending government."

Jeror said that he has obtained permission for the event. The group will assemble on the west lawn, which can hold over 3,000 people. There is plenty of parking.

Other Tax Day Tea Party events have been organized around the country.

For more information on this event, contact Don Jeror
See Rome Sentinel
See Tax Day Tea Party

North Country Trail Gains Willing Seller Authority!

compiled from various sources

After more than a dozen years of disappointment, it seems that dreams really do come true. Year after year a bill has been introduced in one house of Congress to authorize the National Park Service to buy land for the North Country Trail. Year after year, one house has passed the bill while the other has allowed it to languish until Congress adjourned. In one year, both houses passed a "Willing Seller" bill, but the language did not match, so the bill could not become law.

Today, in a vote of 77 to 20, under rules where only a majority was required, the Omnibus Public Lands bill passed the House of Representatives. It was passed by the Senate on January 15, 2009.

Of course, the bill as a whole contains wide-sweeping measures that affect outdoor recreation, wilderness, and the environment, but none of these are so directly important to the NCT.

The New York Times, in an editorial, said "This would be the largest addition to the nation’s store of protected wilderness — now about 107 million acres — since 1994. The bill has broad bipartisan support in Congress and the country at large. Every single provision in the bill is the product of long and intense negotiations stretching back years on the state and local level — the product, that is, of consensus."

A few small amendments were added which do not affect any major provisions of the bill.

This is surely a day for the North Country Trail to Celebrate! Finally, in locations where there is a reasonable trail corridor and the landowner wishes to sell that land to be permanently protected for the trail, the landowner may do so. This will not immediately result in huge land purchases. No one is rash enough to think that people are lining up to sell their property to the National Park Service, nor does the NPS have piles of money which it can spend on land. However, from now on, where those two options meet, the trail will be able to be extended.

See A Bill Whose Time Has Come from the New York Times
See the roll call vote
See Senate Passes Omnibus Public Lands Bill

Ken Salazar Confirmed as 50th Secretary of the Interior

Ken Salazar was unanimously confirmed and sworn in as Secretary of the Interior.(photo from DOI)

from a news release of theDepartment of the Interior

Ken Salazar, a fifth-generation Coloradan who served as the state’s U.S. Senator, Attorney General and Director of Natural Resources, was confirmed January 20, 2009 by a unanimous vote in the U.S. Senate to become the 50th Secretary of the Interior

“I am honored to have been chosen for this position and look forward to working with President Obama on our nation’s energy and natural resource challenges,” Salazar said. “I will be a strong and forceful advocate for the wise stewardship of our nation’s land and water resources, I will help us build a clean energy economy for the twenty-first century, and I will work to restore the integrity of the nation-to-nation relationship with our Native American communities.”

“My first priority at Interior is to lead the Department with openness in decision-making, high ethical standards and respect for scientific integrity,” Salazar emphasized. “I will work for a more proactive and balanced stewardship to protect our national parks and open spaces, restore our Nation’s rivers, resolve our water supply challenges and address the challenges faced by our Native American communities.”

Salazar, who has vigorously advocated the expanded use of clean, renewable energy technologies, will oversee 500 million acres of public lands managed by Interior that include some of the nation's largest sources of wind, solar and geothermal energy. He will lead a Department with 67,000 employees and an annual budget of about $18.6 billion, including annual and permanent funding.

After settling in New Mexico four centuries ago, Salazar's family planted roots in Colorado's San Luis Valley, where they have farmed and ranched the same land for five generations. Raised on a remote ranch without electricity or telephone, Salazar learned the values of hard work, family, and faith. Thanks to his parents’ lessons, he and his seven brothers and sisters all became first generation college graduates.

A farmer for more than thirty years, Salazar was a partner with his family in El Rancho Salazar. He and his wife have owned and operated small businesses, including a Dairy Queen and radio stations in Pueblo and Denver. Salazar worked for eleven years as a water and environmental lawyer with some of the top firms in the West. During his time in the private sector and as Colorado’s Attorney General, Salazar worked on cases from the trial courts to the Colorado and United States Supreme Courts.

He received his law degree from the University of Michigan in 1981 and a political science degree from Colorado College in 1977. He also received honorary doctorates of law from Colorado College in 1993 and the University of Denver in 1999. Salazar and his wife, Hope, have two daughters, Melinda and Andrea, and one granddaughter, Mireya.

A biography of Secretary Salazar and his official image are available online at the Department of the Interior

NPS Director, Bomar, to Retire, Jan 20

Mary Bomar was sworn in as the New National Park Service Director by Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne on October 17, 2006. (DOI photo)

from a news release of the National Park Service

National Park Service (NPS) Director Mary A. Bomar will retire on January 20, capping a 25 year federal career that included becoming the first naturalized citizen to lead the NPS.

“It has been my privilege to lead the 20,000 men and women of the National Park Service for the past 27 months,” said Bomar. “But Inauguration Day marks the end of my tenure as Director. It is time for me to hang up my ranger hat, finish my Park Service career and retire with over 25 years of government service.”

Bomar became the 17th Director of the National Park Service on Oct. 17, 2006. She leads a team of 20,000 employees and 172,000 volunteers in administering 391 national park units and related cultural and natural heritage programs. The parks welcomed more than 275 million visitors in 2007.

Bomar’s tenure was highlighted by the largest increase in operational funds for fiscal year 2008, and an ambitious plan preparing for the NPS Centennial in 2016. In 2008, the National Park Service Centennial Challenge leveraged a $25 million appropriation with private sector matching money to fund 111 programs benefitting 76 parks in 38 states.

In a memo to NPS employees, Bomar wrote, “If parks are America’s best idea, then certainly you are the best America has to offer…there is a new hope and confidence in the future—that we will enter our second century prepared to meet any challenge we face.” She added, “Directors will come and go, but the places are timeless—and the hearts of those who care for them are bigger than the 84 million acres in the system.” Bomar and her husband will relocate to Texas, where she spent the early days of her NPS career, which began at Amistad National Recreation Area, Texas, where she became chief of administration. During her four-year tenure at Amistad, the NPS took advantage of her management expertise, assigning her a portfolio as a management circuit rider, assisting many national park sites in the Southwest.

See Bomar is New Park Service Director