Biden nominates National Park Service director after years of acting heads

President Biden is set to nominate Charles Sams to become the permanent head of the National Park Service (NPS), setting up a potential end to years of the park service being led by acting directors.

The White House confirmed Wednesday that Biden plans to nominate Sams for the role. He currently serves as a council member to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, based in Oregon.

The NPS saw four acting directors during the prior Trump administration. The most recent Senate-confirmed director was Jonathan Jarvis, who led the agency from October 2009 to January 2017.

Sams is an enrolled member of the Cayuse and Walla Walla, of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. He has worked in the nonprofit conservation sector and for state and tribal governments for more than 25 years, according to a fact sheet released by the White House.

His nomination comes after Biden appointed Deb Haaland as the first-ever Native American head of the Interior Department, and since her confirmation Haaland has emphasized cooperation with tribal communities and governments on Indigenous issues.

If confirmed, Sams would take the reins at the NPS after it has been at the center of a series of controversies, including participation in the forcible clearing of protesters from Washington, D.C.’s Lafayette Square during protests in the city last year.

“The diverse experience that Chuck brings to the National Park Service will be an incredible asset as we work to conserve and protect our national parks to make them more accessible for everyone. I look forward to working with him to welcome Americans from every corner of our country into our national park system,” Haaland said in a statement Wednesday. “The outdoors are for everyone, and we have an obligation to protect them for generations to come.”