Charles F. "Chuck" Sams III will be nominated to serve as the director of the National Park Service, Department of Interior officials said in an Aug. 18 statement.
In his current position, Sams was appointed by Oregon Gov. Kate Brown to serve as a council member to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, the interior officials said.
“The diverse experience that Chuck brings to the National Park Service will be an incredible asset as we work to conserve and protect our national parks to make them more accessible for everyone," Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in the release. "I look forward to working with him to welcome Americans from every corner of our country into our national park system. The outdoors are for everyone, and we have an obligation to protect them for generations to come.”
The nomination was also praised by Will Shafroth, the president and CEO of the National Park Foundation.
"Mr. Sams brings a significant background of experience that prepares him exceptionally well to take on and advance the mission of this critical federal agency," Shafroth said, Native News Online reported in August. "His understanding of and work with state governments, tribal governments and nonprofits, will help all of us do a more complete and inclusive job in working with the communities who are connected to and affected by our national parks.”
Sams' recent role was the executive director for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, interior officials said. He has been the president/chief executive officer of the Indian Country Conservancy, executive director for the Umatilla Tribal Community Foundation, national director of the Tribal & Native Lands Program for the Trust for Public Land, executive director for the Columbia Slough Watershed Council, executive director for the Community Energy Project and president/chief executive officer for the Earth Conservation Corps.
If Sams is confirmed, he will be the first American Indian to lead the National Park Service. The National Park system is responsible for overseeing 423 national parks spanning over 84 million acres throughout the U.S.
