The U.S. National Park Service announced in an Oct. 20 press release the selection of Brandon Bies as deputy superintendent of Acadia National Park and the St Croix International Historic Site in Maine.

“Brandon brings expertise to Acadia from many facets of park operations, communications, and community relations. We are thrilled to welcome him to the park in mid-December,” Schneider said. “He has an incredible depth of experience and is a highly accomplished professional with strong leadership skills that will help guide this park into the  future.”

Serving as a replacement for the recently retired Michael Madell, Bies will be tasked with overseeing operations and planning for the local attractions alongside Acadia’s senior management team. Throughout his career, the expert has contributed to the management of the park, regional, and national office levels, including assignments in congressional affairs, and other projects as a park manager, cultural resource specialist and archeologist.

He previously served as superintendent at the Manassas National Battlefield Park in Virginia where researchers discovered the "limb pit" where two soldiers were buried, along with severed limbs from injured soldiers.

“As an archaeologist... it’s  exciting,” Bies, who helped excavate the site, said. “As a human being, lifting the leg of an American soldier and holding the bone with the bullet that killed him, it’s an emotional experience. Scientifically, it’s 'one in a million,'” he said. “But for that soldier, it wasn’t a good one in a million. It was the end of his life.”

This past summer, while Bies was at the Manassas National Battlefield Park, the park received two Civil War cannons that could have been used in the Battle of Bull Run.

"I am honored to be selected as the deputy superintendent of Acadia National Park” Bies said. “Acadia is an amazing place with incredible resources, and I look forward to joining the team and engaging in the many complex issues the park faces.”