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Philadelphia, PA---The
National Park Service (NPS) has selected David W. Spirtes, currently
Superintendent of Western Arctic National Parklands in Kotzebue, Alaska,
as the new superintendent of Fire Island National Seashore, according to
Northeast Regional Director Marie Rust. Slated to take the Seashore
helm in mid-May, Spirtes succeeds Costa Dillon who became superintendent
of the NPS Albright Training Center (AZ) last August.
“Dave Spirtes is
just the perfect mix of seasoned professional and sophisticated park
manager. The record shows that he believes in partnership and community
involvement,” stated Rust in making the announcement. “Clearly, he is
the right choice for the future of Fire Island,” she said.
A native New Yorker, Spirtes is currently serving as Superintendent of
four parks in northwest Alaska encompassing 11.7 million acres,
including 234 miles of Arctic coastline, salt water marshes, lagoons,
and barrier islands. During his tenure, the park established the Arctic
Inventory and Monitoring Network, enhanced science-based
decision-making, developed agreements for the cooperative management
several wildlife species, established a National Park Foundation
endowment fund, increased the diversity of the park staff, and developed
a partnership with a regional Native Corporation to construct a $12
million Heritage Center and NPS headquarters in Kotzebue.
“I’m grateful for
the opportunity to serve as Superintendent of Fire Island National
Seashore with its stunning beaches, scenery and outstanding
recreational, natural and historical resources,” said Spirtes. “I look forward to
working together with the park staff, community partners, organizations,
local residents, and all stakeholders on the challenging issues facing
Fire Island today and building consensus regarding its future. My wife,
Kathy, 8-year old daughter and I are excited about moving from the
remote Arctic Ocean back to my home state New York,” he commented.
Spirtes is a
veteran NPS manager with a wide range of experience in diverse
geographical regions of the United States. He has directed
science/research operations, law enforcement, museum/cultural
preservation facilities, maintenance and engineering operations, and
mining and minerals oversight. Spirtes began his NPS career thirty
years ago as a seasonal park ranger at White Sands National Monument
where he remembers helping to close the monument when missiles were
fired from White Sands Missile Range and hiking more than 100 miles in
the desert patrolling areas that were virtually unexplored.
He spent several
more seasons at parks including Grand Canyon (AZ), Everglades (FL), and
Glacier (MT), before committing to a career job at Gulf Islands National
Seashore in 1977. There his ranger duties included working as a boat
operator, scuba diver and life guard supervisor and living year-round on
Ship Island –a barrier island offshore of Ocean Springs, Mississippi.
He was a sub-district ranger at Yellowstone (MT). He served as Chief
Ranger at Glacier Bay National Park with 1,100 miles of coastline and
many bays and estuaries. He also served as Chief Ranger at North
Cascades National Park.
In 1994, he rose
to the rank of superintendent and for two years headed the Bering Land
Bridge, a 2.7 million acre National Preserve. There he not only
negotiated approval for a cooperative management plan with Alaska’s
Department of Fish and Game along with other stakeholders, but he
increased local support for the Beringian Heritage International Park.
The recipient of
numerous awards for wilderness management, assisting with the Exxon
Valdez oil spill response, managing search and rescue operations,
safety, Spirtes was honored with the Secretary of Interior’s Meritorious
Service Award in 2000. A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh with
a Bachelor of Arts Degree in history (1970) prior to joining the NPS, he
served as a pathfinder and infantrymen with the 101st Airborne Division
in Vietnam.
Stretching along Long Island’s southern coast, Fire Island National
Seashore comprises a compelling blend of ocean washed beaches, dunes and
historical treasures such as the Fire Island Light and the estate of
William Floyd, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
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