Charles F. “Chuck” Sams III was sworn in to his position today as the first tribal citizen to be the head of the National Park Service. The position has been unoccupied for the last five years.
Sams will oversee parks like Yellowstone National Park through upgrades funded through the Great American Outdoors Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This means updating and repairing the National Park Service roads, bridges and transit system.
“Under his leadership, the National Park Service will continue to protect our public lands for generations to come and make critical investments in the vast infrastructure that sustains our public lands and national parks,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said.
Sams is an enrolled member of the Cayuse and Walla Walla tribes on the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.
More information here.