HELENA — Yellowstone Superintendent Dan Wenk will speak about his imminent departure from the National Park Service after previously saying he was forced out by the Trump administration.
Wenk will retire Sept. 29 after 43 years with the park service. He is scheduled to speak with reporters Thursday.
He wanted to extend his tenure leading the nation’s first national park but retired early rather than accept an unwanted transfer to Washington, D.C.
He says the transfer order followed disagreements with Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke over how many bison the park can sustain.
Wenk’s seven years leading Yellowstone have been marked by an explosion in visitor numbers, tensions over wolf hunts and snowmobile use and a sexual harassment scandal involving Yellowstone’s maintenance division.
His replacement will be Cameron “Cam” Sholly, the park service’s Midwest regional director.