+----------------------------+------------------+---+-------------------+
| National Park Service      | Pacific West     |   | 1111 Jackson      |
|                            | Region           |   | Street            |
| U.S. Department of the     |                  |   |                   |
| Interior                   |                  |   | Suite 700         |
|                            |                  |   |                   |
|                            |                  |   | Oakland, CA       |
|                            |                  |   | 94607-4807        |
|                            |                  |   |                   |
|                            |                  |   | 510-817-1320      |
|                            |                  |   | phone             |
|                            |                  |   |                   |
|                            |                  |   | 510-817-1325 fax  |
+----------------------------+------------------+---+-------------------+

![](media/image1.png){width="0.5597222222222222in"
height="0.7201388888888889in"}

**Pacific West Region News Release**

For Immediate Release

Holly Bundock, Public Affairs Officer

February 20, 2008

**NEW SUPERINTENDENT NAMED**

**FOR GREAT BASIN NATIONAL PARK**

Andrew "Andy" J. Ferguson is the newly appointed superintendent for
Great Basin National Park, it was announced today by National Park
Service (NPS) Regional Director Jonathan B. Jarvis. Ferguson replaces
Cindy Nielsen who retired November 2007.

Ferguson is expected to arrive at park headquarters in Baker, Nevada by
April. He is moving from his post as superintendent of Perry's Victory
and International Peace Memorial at Put-in-Bay, Ohio.

"Andy's willingness to promote community relations and his broad
background in park operations will serve him well," said Jarvis. "He has
made great strides in partnering---with local governments and
organizations---in each park he has served in."

No stranger to the west, Ferguson started his federal career with the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) as an outdoor recreation planner for the
Henry Mountain Resource Area in Utah. He has been a ranger with the NPS
at Capitol Reef National Park, Utah; Glen Canyon National Recreation
Area, Arizona; and at Big Bend National Park in Texas.

He has worked on business and concession management activities with the
BLM at Havasu Resource Area in Arizona and with the NPS at Lake Mead
National Recreation Area in Nevada.

Ferguson moved east to Cumberland Island National Seashore to serve as
its management assistant, handling policy and planning issues.

Since 2004, he has been telling the story of the Battle of Lake Erie, a
decisive victory that changed the course of the War of 1812. He also has
worked on funding and restoring a 352-foot Doric column that
commemorates the event. The park is an International Peace Memorial
flying both the American and Canadian flags.

He is a graduate of the University of California, Davis, with a B.S. in
Environmental Planning and Management. He has a M.S. from the University
of Idaho in Moscow in Wildland Recreation Management. After completing
his master's degree, Ferguson joined the Peace Corps as a National Park
planner in Nicaragua.

Ferguson and his wife, Carol, have a daughter, Heather, now living in
Romania where her husband, Justin Almeida, serves in the Peace Corps.
Carol, a former NPS employee and originally from Winnemucca, has been
working for the Stone Lab of Ohio State University and Ottawa County's
Senior Services.

"We look forward to returning to the west and becoming a part of the
community of Baker," Ferguson said. "We have made a lot of wonderful
friends at Put-in-Bay and invite them to explore the Loneliest Highway
in America, the Great Basin Heritage Area and the National Park."

Nevada's largest national park, Great Basin includes 13,062 foot Wheeler
Peak, Lehman Caves, and the 5,000 year old bristlecone pines that grow
on the rocky glacial moraines and outstanding examples of desert basin
landscapes. The Great Basin National Heritage Route was established to
promote a greater appreciation for the history of the area.

-NPS-

Editor's Note: Ferguson can be reached for interviews at 419-285-2184,
x225.