New Acadia superintendent announced

ACADIA NATIONAL PARK – A career National Park Service manager who has a proven record of working well with the public and protecting some of America’s most beautiful natural resources has been named the new superintendent of Acadia National Park.

Sheridan Steele, who honeymooned on the Maine coast nearly three decades ago, will start his new job in late May, taking over management of one of the state’s premier tourism destinations and one of the 10 most heavily visited national parks.

Steele could not be reached for comment Wednesday, but in a prepared statement said he was “thrilled” to be returning to Maine.

“Acadia National Park has a rich array of natural and cultural resources and I am honored to be its new superintendent,” he said. “I am looking forward to working closely with the park’s excellent staff, wonderful neighbors, local community and partners like the Friends of Acadia to ensure the park’s successful future.

“My wife, Barb, and I are thrilled to be moving to the beautiful coast of Maine,” he said.

Steele presently is superintendent of Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and Curecanti National Recreation Area in Colorado. The two park properties are operated by a single management team, and welcome about 1.2 million visitors a year, according to park officials.

Acadia is among the top 10 busiest parks in the NPS system of nearly 400 national parks, monuments and recreation areas. Visitorship has been relatively stable in recent years, with an estimated 2.8 million visits a year.

Ken Olson, president of Friends of Acadia, which raises money for and provides other support to the park, said Wednesday he was “privileged” to be able to participate in screening candidates for the job. He said there were three finalists, including Len Bobinchock, an Acadia manager for 14 years who has served as acting superintendent since former Superintendent Paul Heartel retired last September.

Olson said he has known for about a month that Steele was the successful candidate and, in fact, Friends of Acadia beat the National Park Service in announcing Steele’s selection Wednesday morning.

“I really think the final bunch of candidates were all outstanding,” Olson said. “They couldn’t have made a mistake no matter who had been selected.”

Olson said he spoke to Steele several weeks ago after Steele had accepted the Acadia job. He said they discussed Acadia issues and when Olson might be able to introduce Steele to some of Friends of Acadia’s members, which include David Rockefeller, grandson of one of the founders of the park and a major financial contributor to the group.

Olson said he also recommended some real estate agents for Steele to call in looking for a home on Mount Desert Island. “I tried to talk him into moving to the west side” of the island, Olson said. The area is known as the “Quietside” of the island and is less developed.

Clare Bingham, executive director of the Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce, who also must work closely with both Friends of Acadia and the new superintendent, was unaware of the appointment Wednesday afternoon.

Edi Shean-Hammond, spokeswoman for the NPS Northeast Region, said Steele’s appointment was not final until Tuesday afternoon, when the Maine congressional delegation was informed of the appointment.

Steele has enjoyed a distinguished career with the NPS, according to the prepared statement, beginning his service in 1978 as a management assistant at Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area in Ohio.

In his first job, Steele worked with 16 communities to resolve issues relating to the creation of a large new recreation area surrounding the cities of Cleveland and Akron.

From 1982 to 1988, Steele served as superintendent of Fort Scott National Historic Site in Fort Scott, Kan., where he also worked to build community support. He was credited with boosting the volunteer corps at Fort Scott and improving visitor services.

Steele was selected for the Department of Interior Management Development Program, which provides education and training to NPS employees who show potential as future NPS executives.

He spent a year in the program before being named assistant superintendent of Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado in 1989, another of the NPS’ most popular parks, with an estimated 3.5 million annual visits.

According to Olson and NPS officials, Steele’s experience and skills will be a good fit as he builds on progress made at Acadia under the management team of Heartel and Bobinchock.

“Throughout his 25 years of Park Service management experience, [Steele] has clearly demonstrated extraordinary creativity, business acumen and a deep sensitivity for both natural and cultural resources,” Marie Rust, director of the NPS Northeast Region, said in a prepared statement.

The NPS conducted a six-month national search for a new Acadia superintendent, in part because of political pressure exerted by Friends of Acadia officials, who wanted to ensure that the best possible candidate was found for the job.

Steele, who expects to move to Maine by late May, will be missed at Black Canyon and Curecanti, according to one of his staff members.

“He’s really good because he’s really involved,” said Jorge Maldonaeo, fee manager for the two Colorado park sites. “Many things happened when he came here; a visitors center, more land for the park and legislation designating Black Canyon as a national park” in 1999.

“We’re going to be sad to see him go,” Maldonaeo said.