PORT ANGELES — Todd Suess, former deputy superintendent of Olympic National Park, has been named superintendent of Mojave National Preserve in California, park officials announced Thursday.
Suess, 49, was appointed as ONP’s deputy superintendent in February 2010.
His five-year tenure coincided with the $325 million Elwha River restoration project, which included the largest dam removal in U.S. history.
Suess helped shepherd development of the Spruce Railroad Trail at Lake Crescent and championed weekday winter access to Hurricane Ridge.
“I think the Elwha was the big project in the room, but there were so many other things going on at the same time,” he said in a Thursday telephone interview from Barstow, Calif., which is west of the 2,403-square-mile desert preserve.
ONP tasks
At Olympic, Suess supervised all operations, including administration, resource and visitor protection, resources management, facilities programs and interpretation and education.
He said he will miss ONP’s ocean beaches, mountain wilderness and, above all, the people.
“We carry those ties that we make as we move from place to place,” Suess said.
In his role at Olympic, Suess helped Clallam County develop plans to pave and widen the iconic Spruce Railroad Trail to provide cyclists and other trail users with safe, non-motorized passage around Lake Crescent’s north shore.
The 3.5-mile trail and its two historic railroad tunnels will eventually become part of the Olympic Discovery Trail, which connects Port Townsend with LaPush.
“He’s been involved in the process in getting it this far,” Clallam County Engineer Ross Tyler said.
Suess, an avid cyclist, described the trail as a “fabulous resource for visitors and locals.”
He also helped develop a pilot project to provide seven-day winter access to Hurricane Ridge.
Hurricane Ridge Road is now open Fridays through Sundays and holiday Mondays in the winter when weather permits.
Suess (pronounced cease) was named acting superintendent of Mojave National Preserve on Jan. 6. He learned that he would become the permanent superintendent a week later.
He replaces retired Mojave National Preserve Superintendent Stephanie Dubois.
A stark contrast to ONP, the 1.6 million-acre Mojave National Preserve is known for its summer heat, desert wildflowers, sand dunes and Joshua tree forests.
Its canyons, mesas and historical sites attract visitors traveling between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, Suess said.
The Mojave preserve is the third-largest National Park Service site in the Lower 48 states behind Death Valley and Yellowstone national parks.
Past service
Suess, who has worked with federal land management agencies for more than 26 years, was superintendent at Jewel Cave National Monument in South Dakota from 2001 to 2010.
He served as acting superintendent of Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California late last year.
“Early in my career, I worked for the BLM [Bureau of Land Management] in Yuma, Ariz., and very much enjoyed the desert environment,” Suess said in a park news release.
“It was not until I returned to the desert this past summer as acting superintendent at Joshua Tree National Park that I realized how much I had missed that environment.”
Suess and his wife, Jackie, will reside in Barstow.
“Todd is an experienced leader with the National Park Service, and we are convinced that his skills, experience and passion for the desert southwest make him a great fit for Mojave National Preserve,” National Park Service Pacific West Regional Director Chris Lehnertz said in the news release.
“I am delighted to keep him in our region and know that park staff, partners and community members will enjoy working with him.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
