Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne will attend the National Park Service Superintendents Summit in Snow Bird, Utah beginning Wednesday, July 16, 2008 and continuing through Thursday, July 17, 2008. The Secretary will address the gathered superintendents and senior park leadership on Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. MDT.
The NPS Superintendents Summit 2008 will be held July 16-17, 2008, at the Cliff Lodge in Snowbird, just outside Salt Lake City. About 450 employees will attend, including the superintendents who manage the 391 sites in the National Park System.
National Park Service Director Mary A. Bomar said: “As we approach our 100th anniversary in 2016, we have three significant tasks ahead of us: reconnecting Americans with their national parks, increasing the capacity of the national park system, and developing park leaders for our second century. The summit will focus on these themes.”
Sessions of the summit on the first day will focus on the role of the parks in a rapidly diversifying American population, youth programs, emerging technologies and citizen stewardship.
The second day’s program will look at both the Service’s traditions, and toward its Centennial. Filmmaker Dayton Duncan will preview and discuss an upcoming 12-part production with Ken Burns on the national parks. Other speakers will focus on the 2016 NPS Centennial, including increasing the agency’s capacity through funding and private philanthropic partnerships.
Superintendent meetings are rare for the National Park Service. This is the third such national gathering in two decades. Superintendent Summit ’08 is the first such meeting since 1988 in Wyoming.
| Who: | Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne National Park Service Director Mary Bomar Superintendents and National Park Service senior leadership |
| What: | Address by Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne to the National Park Service Superintendents Summit 2008 |
| When: | Secretary Kempthorne’s Remarks 11:00 a.m. MDT Wednesday, July 16, 2008 |
| Where: | Cliff Lodge Ballroom Snowbird, Utah |
| Media: | All credentialed media are invited to attend and photograph the event. In order to have adequate space and facilities, please contact one of the following before arriving at Snowbird: Conference Chair Joan Anzelmo, joan_anzelmo@nps.gov, (970) 858-3617 x 301Conference Communications Chair John Quinley, john_quinley@nps.gov, (907) 644-3512 NPSChief of Communications & Public Affairs David Barna, david_barna@nps.gov, (202) 208-4995 |