Our Stories
NPS Announces New Superintendent
The National Park Service has announced a new Superintendent for the North Country National Scenic Trail. Mark Weaver will officially come on board late summer/early fall as he finishing his duties as superintendent of the Nicodemus National Historic Site in Kansas, http://www.nps.gov/nico/index.htm. His background is in community planning and the NPS’s Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program, a program we have worked closely with over the years. Please see the press release below for more information.
Press Release
Mark Weaver Selected as Managerof North Country National Scenic Trail
OMAHA, Neb. – Mark Weaver, currently Superintendent at Nicodemus National Historic Site (NHS) in Nicodemus, Kan., has been selected to manage the North Country National Scenic Trail (NST) headquartered in Lowell, Mich. He will assume this new assignment on August 26, replacing Tom Gilbert, who retired from Federal service earlier this year.
In announcing Weaver’s selection, National Park Service (NPS) Midwest Regional Director Michael T. Reynolds stated, “The breadth of Mark’s experience, especially his successes in partnership projects in the Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program arena, make him an ideal choice to lead the still growing North Country National Scenic Trail.”
Weaver began his NPS career in 1993, serving as a Park Landscape Architect at Ozark National Scenic Riverways in Van Buren, Mo., before being duty stationed in Milwaukee, Wis., as a Community Planner for the NPS Midwest Region Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program in 1998. He became Superintendent at Nicodemus NHS in 2008. Prior to his Federal service, Weaver held positions as a Landscape Architect in Arizona, California, and Michigan, and as Assistant Professor in the Landscape Architecture Program at Auburn University.
Weaver has recently completed details with the Department of the Interior International Technical Assistance Program, consulting on eco- and cultural-tourism projects in Central and South America, most recently providing guidance regarding the design of tourist facilities at the Mayan site of El Mirador in northern Guatemala.
While at Nicodemus, Weaver has focused on establishing baseline research, resources and documents, collecting oral histories, protecting the collections of the park and partners, and preserving and interpreting the cultural landscape and structures that represent the story of post-Civil War African American settlement in the Promised Land of Nicodemus Kansas.
Weaver said of this new assignment, “What an exciting challenge to be involved with the management of the North Country Trail. My years with the RTCA program will serve as an excellent foundation to the partnering challenges ahead, and my time at Ozark NSR and Nicodemus NHS have grounded me in NPS administrative and operational requirements. I am thrilled to be returning to my Midwest roots and I look forward to working with park staff and partners to move closer to completion of the longest continuous hiking trail in the United States.”
An Oscoda, Mich., native, Weaver earned his Bachelor’s of Landscape Architecture from Michigan State University, and completed his Master’s of Landscape Architecture through Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech). Mark’s wife, Stephanie (Marshall) Weaver, formerly a pastry chef from Ann Arbor, Mich., recently completed her bachelor’s degree in Information Resources online through the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. They have two sons, Sam, 21, and Ben, 17, and in their spare time, the Weavers enjoy home repair, gardening, and their dogs.
The North Country NST was authorized and established in 1980 as a component of the National Trails System. One of only 11 national scenic trails, the 4,000-mile, non-motorized North Country NST links scenic, natural, historic, and cultural areas in 7 northern states and includes a variety of hikes from easy walking to challenging treks. When completed to 4,200 – 4,500 miles in total length, the trail will become the longest continuous hiking trail in the United States with terminus points near Crown Point, New York, and Lake Sakakawea in North Dakota, where it joins the route of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail. From the Missouri River to the shores of Lake Champlain, the trail allows hikers to experience a variety of features, from clear-flowing streams to thick Northern woods, from vast prairies to clean lakes.
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