The National Park Service has announced a new superintendent for our neighboring National Preserve to the north.
Ray McPadden has been chosen to serve as the superintendent of Mojave National Preserve – headquartered in Kelso, California and located just northeast of Joshua Tree.
McPadden most recently served as the superintendent of Kobuk Valley National Park, Noatak National Preserve, and Cape Krusenstern National Monument, which span 9 million acres of Alaska’s Brooks Range and western coast.
Mojave National Preserve was established by the 1994 California Desert Protection Act. McPadden will lead the 1.6-million-acre park that encompasses much of the Mojave Desert, as well as transitional elements of the Great Basin and Sonoran deserts. About half of the park is Congressionally designated wilderness.
McPadden’s National Park Service career includes time spent as a backcountry ranger, project manager, resource manager, and superintendent. He has worked at Yellowstone National Park, Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, Olympic National Park, and the Denver Service Center.
Prior to his NPS career, McPadden was an Army Ranger serving in the elite 2nd Ranger Battalion during the Iraq and Afghan wars. The National Park Service says that McPadden is eager to put roots down in San Bernardino County and will relocate with his wife and two children.
To learn more about Mojave National Preserve, please go to nps.gov/moja
