Yellowstone Insider Your Complete Guide to America's First National Park
We have a new interim chief ranger in Yellowstone National Park, with Leslie Reynolds named to the post by Superintendent Cam Sholly, as the National Park Service embarks on a search for a permanent appointment.
She replaces outgoing chief ranger Pete Webster, who recently transferred to deputy superintendent of Glacier National Park. Reynolds will begin her acting position on June 18 and serve throughout the summer and fall.
Reynolds has wide-ranging experience serving for the past seven years as the chief ranger of Cape Cod National Seashore and previously as chief ranger of Shenandoah National Park, Valley district ranger in Yosemite National Park, and a multitude of other field leadership positions, including night shift supervisor in Yosemite Valley.
As Yellowstone’s interim chief ranger, Reynolds will oversee a division budget of $16 million and a team of 170 employees.
Reynolds began her career with the National Park Service in 1995 as a seasonal law enforcement ranger at Yosemite National Park. She has trained and served as a mounted horse patrol ranger, mounted patrol color guard team member, deputy coroner, advanced life support park medic, helicopter short haul and hoist team member, and basic peer supporter.
“Leslie is one of the best chief rangers and managers in this agency and we’re very pleased to have her here in Yellowstone,” said Sholly. “She has an incredible range of experience in many parks and her leadership perspectives will be highly valued here.”
Reynolds is a native of Hopkinton, Massachusetts, and a graduate of Merrimack College in North Andover, Massachusetts, where she majored in Business Management. Reynolds and her husband Jim will reside in Mammoth Hot Springs for the duration of the detail.
Photo courtesy National Park Service.
