National Park Service (NPS) Regional Director Bert Frost announced the selection of Kristen Hase as superintendent of Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve comprising almost 11,000 acres across east-central Kansas. She is currently the resources manager at Tallgrass National Prairie Preserve where she works closely with the preserve’s primary partner, The Nature Conservancy. She will assume her new permanent role on January 16.
"We are pleased to welcome Kristen as the new superintendent," said Frost. “Her years of experience in resource management at the preserve and throughout Kansas make her uniquely qualified to lead the park."
“I am honored to be selected as the superintendent of Tallgrass National Prairie Preserve,” Hase said about her appointment. “I look forward to continuing work with preserve staff and The Nature Conservancy to protect and interpret the important natural and cultural resources found on the preserve.”
A 16-year veteran of the NPS, Hase has served as a resource manager for the preserve and been instrumental in the success of the preserve’s partnerships with The Nature Conservancy, universities, and other agencies. Her work at the preserve earned her the Trish Patterson Student Conservation Association Award for Natural Resource Management in a Small Park in 2019.
Prior to her work at the preserve, she served as the statewide Stream Survey Coordinator for the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks.
Growing up in Kansas, Hase earned her bachelor’s degree in biology at Baker University and master’s degree in zoology at Emporia State University. She enjoys wildflower gardening, hiking, bird watching, and spending time with her children Ian 16, Ava 14, Noah 10, and husband Chris.
