Gary E. Everhardt (July 8, 1934 - December 27, 2020), was the ninth Director of the US

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propert ...

(NPS). He began his NPS career as an

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

in 1957 and rose to the superintendency of Grand Teton National Park in 1972. Favorable notice there propelled him to the directorship in January 1975. As director he oversaw a great increase in park development and interpretive programming for the Bicentennial of the American Revolution. The return of an NPS careerist to the job was much applauded by park employees and supporters, but Everhardt's leadership fell short of expectations, and the new Carter administration returned him to the field as Blue Ridge Parkway's superintendent in May 1977.

Biography

Everhardt took a civil engineering degree at North Carolina State University, served as an Army officer, and became a NPS engineer. As Director (1975–77), he led the NPS through the implementation of the

United States Bicentennial The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to historical events leading up to the creation of the United States of America as an independent republic. It was a central event ...

observance. The NPS conducted activities at 250 sites coast-to-coast. Everhardt pushed wilderness designation and hailed a Presidential proposal for a $1.5 billion Bicentennial Land Heritage Program. During his Directorship, a policy council was created, which produced management objectives for the Service. Other firsts were the first national symposium on urban recreation; the first national conference on scientific research; the first Native crafts sales program in parks and the first international park publication, ''PARKS''. The Everhardt years were short, and consumed by the Bicentennal of the United States. During these years, the service was expanding its workforce. The number of individuals interested in positions far exceeded the jobs available. Professional skills were becoming more extensive and the need for specialists was evident.Everhart, William C.; The National Park Service; Praeger Publishers; New York, 1972. In his book, The National Park Service, William Everhardt (no relation) laid out the variety of skills needed to successfully operate a national park. No longer was the Park Ranger to be a multi-talented individual. New positions were being defined covering many of the jobs previously done by the park ranger. The new service would include; fire technicians, search and rescue specialists, law enforcement specialists, museum technicians, exhibit designers, film production people and many other skills once done by the park ranger.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Everhardt, Gary 1934 births 2020 deaths Directors of the National Park Service North Carolina State University alumni People from Lenoir, North Carolina

Biography

Further reading

See also

References