President Biden nominated Charles F. Sams III, a tribal citizen of the Confederated Tribes of Umatilla, to serve as the director of the National Park Service (NPS).
Sams needs to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate and, if confirmed, would be the first Native American Indian to head the National Park Service. Sams would also become the first Senate-confirmed Director since Jonathan Jarvis, who led the agency from October 2009 to January 2017. Sams currently serves as a council member to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council appointed by Oregon Governor Kate Brown.
The National Park Service is part of the U.S. Department of the Interior with 423 national park sites in the United States, which include 63 national parks, 85 national monuments, national battle sites, and national shorelines, spanning over some 84 million acres.
Sam has worked for tribal and state governments and non-profit agencies for 25 years. He previously served as Deputy Executive Director for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR), communications director for the CTUIR, environmental health and safety officer/planner in the Tribal Planning Office for the CTUIR, president/chief executive officer of Indian Country Conservancy, among other positions. He is also a former adjunct professor at Georgetown University and Whitman College.
