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

NCTA Hires David Cowles for Development

David Cowles

based on an article in the North Star

David Cowles comes to the North Country Trail Association from NOLS, the National Outdoor Leadership School, in Lander, Wyoming. His role for the NCTA is Development Director.

The NCTA has been hopeful of hiring someone for this important function for a number of years. One of the ongoing challenges for any non-profit is that of raising funds. The ability of the NCTA to fulfill its mission has continually been limited by the funds available. Cowles will dedicate his time to remedying this situation.

Cowles holds a Master's degree in Nonprofit Management from Regis University. His professional experience spans several decades, including seven years with NOLS as Associate Director of Development.

With wife, Anita, and his two children, David has moved to west Michigan to guide the NCTA fund-raising efforts. He says, "The single most transformational outdoor experience I have ever had was a 90-day trek on one of our National Scenic Trails. That trip chiseled life lessons into my life that still guide my values today."

Welcome, David!

See North Country Trail Association

NCTA New Director of Trail Development

Andrea Ketchmark (photo from NCTA)

if you like this article, click the Blip chiclet!
from the North Country Trail Association

NCTA's new Director of Trail Development is Andrea Ketchmark. Andrea joins NCTA after a highly successful stint as the American Hiking Society's Volunteer Programs Manager, where she provided oversight for AHS's Volunteer Vacations.

Andrea holds a a Natural Resources Recreation and Tourism degree from Colorado State University. Her emphasis was on sustainable travel.

She brings a ton of enthusiasm for supporting the NCT community and coordinating our community presence with chapters along the Trail

See North Country Trail Association

Matthews to Co-Host Outdoor Writers Assoc Conference

Bruce Matthews (photo from Triad 2008)

based on a news article in the Flint Journal, "Outdoor writers to flock to Grand Rapids," by David Graham, April 20, 2009

Bruce Matthews, Executive Director of the North Country Trail Association will co-host the 82nd Outdoor Writers Association of America (OWAA) conference.

About 500 members of the OWAA are expected to attend June 13-16 in Grand Rapids Michigan. The conference will be based at the Amway Grand Plaza hotel, with trips to trout streams, islands, national forests and parks. It is the first OWAA conference to be held in Michigan since the 1980s.

Two events on June 13 are open to the public. The first, "Becoming an Outdoor Communicator," will run from 8 a.m.- noon. Aspiring outdoor writers must register in advance at the web site. The second public even is that evening from 6:30-9:30 p.m. and is a benefit auction.

The other co-host is Tom Huggler, a well-known outdoor writer who currently writes for Shooting Sportsmen.

Communications Director Resigns

from Bruce Matthews, Executive Director, North Country Trail Association

I know you'll all join me in thanking Mary Meehan for her contributions and wishing her future success as she departs NCTA. We've learned much through her tenure and made progress in some key areas. As we consider next steps we will continue to build upon a solid communications platform that meets our member expectations and advances our Association agenda.

Mary's departure leaves some major holes to fill and no doubt creates some questions about what's next. The rest of the staff are working on short-term solutions, most notably to try to keep the new website launch on track, but also to keep to production schedules for North Star and Blue Blazes Bulletin. Please do let me know any questions or concerns, particularly if you are left with a project hanging in mid air. We may not know that and need you to close the loop so we can respond.

We will be coordinating key folks in building a solid strategy for next steps. We'll be looking at NCTA's broad staffing needs, in communications as well as trail management/administration, advocacy (state and national) and development. We have an opportunity to reflect current needs and landscapes and will move decisively in filling this position in the next few months. We have an opportunity to take a page from our new President as we're encouraged to embrace the change that's needed.

Contact Bruce Matthews

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

NCT Regional Office Town Recipient of Preserve America Grant

Village of Shawnee, Ohio (photo by Lost in the Hills)

from a news release of the Department of the Interior
with additional comments

Preserve America Grants in 17 States Announced; First Preserve America Stewards Designees Announced

Mrs. Laura Bush, Deputy Secretary of the Interior Lynn Scarlett and Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) Chairman John L Nau, III, have announced the first round of Preserve America Grants for FY 2009 for a total of nearly $3 million.

Preserve America is a White House initiative that encourages and supports community efforts to preserve and enjoy our nation’s heritage. Scarlett and Nau co-chair Preserve America. Mrs. Bush has served as Honorary Chair of Preserve America since its inception in March 2003.

"The Preserve America Initiative was launched by President Bush to promote cultural and natural preservation and to encourage greater appreciation of our national heritage," Mrs. Bush said. "Thanks to each of these grant recipients for the work they are doing to preserve our nation's important historical landmarks."

The Preserve America Grant program is administered by the Department of the Interior’s National Park Service in partnership with the ACHP. The competitive matching grants fund Preserve America Communities, State Historic Preservation Offices, and Tribal Historic Preservation Offices to support their preservation efforts through heritage tourism, education and historic preservation planning.

“These Preserve America Grants help weave cultural and natural heritage into the economic, educational, and social well-being of communities by promoting heritage tourism,” Scarlett said.

Shawnee, Ohio will receive $100,000 for a Priority Property Asset Plan

The Village of Shawnee, which serves as a gateway to the Little Cities of Black Diamonds region and the Wayne National Forest, will identify the most vulnerable properties of its Main Street Historic district and plan for their restoration and reuse. Funds will also be used to design a streetscape for the downtown historic district in an effort to spur tourism-based economic development.

NCTA Regional office recently relocated to Shawnee

Andrew Bashaw, Regional Trail Coordinator for Ohio and Pennsylvania announced in November that the Harrop House in historic downtown Shawnee will be the new home to the regional office of the North Country Trail Association, the Little Cities of the Forest Collaborative, and the Ohio's Hill Country Heritage Area.

See New NCTA Ohio Regional Office

New NCTA Ohio Regional Office

Harrop House

from Andrew Bashaw, Regional Trail Coordinator for Ohio and Pennsylvania

The Harrop House in historic downtown Shawnee is the new home to the regional office of the North Country Trail Association, the Little Cities of the Forest Collaborative, and the Ohio's Hill Country Heritage Area.

Come see our new digs in this old building, learn what these organizations are accomplishing in the region, and see the Village of Shawnee. Feel free to bring a potluck snack for folks to share, refreshments will be provided. The event is casual, so leave your tux at home!

We'll also lead a short +/- 2 mile hike starting at 10am right across the highway at Tecumseh Lake along the Buckeye, North Country and American Discovery Trails, dress for a hike in the woods.

Feel free to drop by anytime, call ahead to guarantee the light will be on with someone here to greet you!

The Harrop House
127 b West Main Street
Shawnee, OH 43782
740-394-2008