The National Park Service (NPS) has selected Jason Taylor as the new superintendent of Indiana Dunes National Park. Taylor is an experienced resource and land management leader who currently serves as the Director of the Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute (ALWRI) for the United States Forest Service (USFS) located in Missoula, Montana. He will assume his new role at Indiana Dunes later this spring.
Taylor brings over 15 years of federal service with him to Indiana Dunes National Park. He began his federal career working for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in the White River Field Office. He previously worked with the NPS in 2013 as the chief of natural resource management and science at Cape Cod National Seashore before joining the NPS’s Alaska regional chief of natural resources. He would go on to be superintendent at Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park in Skagway, Alaska before joining the U.S. Forest Service. As Director for ALWRI, Taylor leads an interagency effort dedicated to the development and dissemination of science crucial to the stewardship of nearly 112 million acres of land in the National Wilderness Preservation System.
“Having spent most of my career in faraway places, I am excited to return home to serve the people and resources of the Great Lakes states,” Taylor said. “I am looking forward to joining the talented park staff and contributing to the exceptional work already happening to care for a place that’s so special, ecologically and culturally, and to the community and partners.”
Taylor earned a Doctorate and Master of Science in Natural Resources and Environment from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Michigan. Jason and his wife Jennifer, along with their two young children, will be relocating to the Dunes area in early May. In his personal time, Jason enjoys traveling, photography, woodworking, and spending time with his family exploring the natural world.
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