News Release

Ray McPadden selected as superintendent of Mojave National Preserve

Ray McPadden, new superintendent of Mojave National Preserve.

National Park Service

News Release Date: June 11, 2024

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SAN FRANCISCO – The National Park Service (NPS) has selected Ray McPadden to serve as the superintendent of Mojave National Preserve in Kelso, Calif., starting July 28, 2024. 

McPadden most recently served as the superintendent of Kobuk Valley National Park, Noatak National Preserve, and Cape Krusenstern National Monument, which span 9 million acres of Alaska’s Brooks Range and western coast. 
   
"We are excited to have Ray join the NPS parks in the spectacular California desert. He is a collaborative leader and problem-solver who invests in communities, Tribes, and his park team," said Pacific West Regional Director David Szymanski.  
 
McPadden’s accomplishments include developing co-stewardship agreements with tribes, implementing new protections for Alaska’s largest caribou herd, managing subsistence hunts for muskox, transitioning park facilities to wind energy, bringing high-speed internet to the workforce, and improving park housing.  
  
Mojave National Preserve was established by the 1994 California Desert Protection Act. McPadden will lead the 1.6-million-acre park that encompasses much of the Mojave Desert, as well as transitional elements of the Great Basin and Sonoran deserts. About half of the park is Congressionally designated wilderness.  
 
“I am honored to be selected to lead this magnificent preserve,” said McPadden. “I’ve visited the Mojave Desert throughout my life and am inspired by its beauty, amazing natural resources, and human history. I’m excited to work with the dedicated staff who care for this special place, our partners, local communities, and Tribes.”  
 
McPadden’s National Park Service career includes time spent as a backcountry ranger, project manager, resource manager, and superintendent. He has worked at Yellowstone National Park, Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, Olympic National Park, and the Denver Service Center.   
  
Prior to his NPS career, McPadden was an Army Ranger serving in the elite 2nd Ranger Battalion during the Iraq and Afghan wars. He was decorated for valor and wounded in action.  
  
McPadden is an alumnus of the Senior Executive Fellows program at Harvard Kennedy School and earned an Executive Certificate in Public Leadership from the same institution. He holds a master’s degree in Community and Regional Planning from the University of Oregon and a bachelor's degree from Texas A&M University.  
  
McPadden is eager to put roots down in San Bernardino County and will relocate with his wife, Elizabeth, and two children, Audie and Lupine. He has fond memories of adventures in the Mojave preserve while training at Fort Irwin. He looks forward to revisiting the volcanic landscapes, Joshua trees, and desert tortoises and hopes to hike and camp in the preserve and travel the Mojave Road.   
   

To learn more about Mojave National Preserve, please go to nps.gov/moja.   

   

www.nps.gov   
   
About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 429 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov, and on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.