The National Park Service has tapped John H. King, who has been deputy regional director of the Intermountain Region for nearly six years, to become superintendent of the Virgin Islands National Park.
King has been with the park service for nearly three decades, and will start his new job in late November. NPS Southeast Regional Director Jerry Belson called King "one of our top managers" and said King "will bring a wealth of talent and experience to his new post."
As second-in-command of the Intermountain Region, headquartered in Denver, King helped oversee some of the most popular parks in North America, including the Grand Canyon, Rocky Mountain National Park and Yellowstone, said NPS spokesman Paul Winegar. At the V.I. National Park, he will replace Russ Berry, who retired earlier this year.
The park service had previously announced that Wendell Simpson, superintendent at Natchez Trace Parkway, would take over the Virgin Islands post. But Simpson reportedly wanted a promotion that would oversee all national parks on St. John, St. Croix and Puerto Rico, and withdrew from consideration when it was not forthcoming.
King started out as a park ranger at Natchez Trace while attending Mississippi State University, where he graduated in 1971. He took on administrative posts at several parks over the years, including Big Bend National Park in Texas. He joined the staff of the Intermountain Region in 1992, where he eventually was promoted to the No. 2 spot.
He and his wife, the former Martha Brown, have three grown children.
