By Shannon Lukens.
The National Park Service has chosen a new superintendent for Dinosaur National Monument. Phil Akers is from Colorado and has worked in the National Park Service for 25 years. His family homesteaded in Mesa County in the mid 1880s. He’ll oversee a staff of 50 permanent and 40 seasonal employees. Akers will relocate to the area and starts June 16. He replaces Paul Scolari who has taken a new position with the park service in Hawaii.
Press release from National Park Service; May 6, 2024.
National Park Service selects new superintendent of Dinosaur National Monument
DINOSAUR, Colo. – The National Park Service (NPS) has selected Phil Akers as superintendent of Dinosaur National Monument. Akers will begin his new assignment on June 16.
“Phil is a resourceful and result-driven leader with over 25 years of experience working in the National Park Service,” said Deputy Regional Director Brian Carlstrom. “He has deep roots in western Colorado. His family homesteaded in the Kanna Creek area near the town of White Water in Mesa County in the mid 1880’s. Phil has spent much of his career working in Colorado including a stint at Dinosaur National Monument.”
At Dinosaur, Akers will oversee a staff of 50 permanent and 40 NPS seasonal employees. The team works to protect and preserve the diverse natural and cultural resources where five geographic provinces converge: the Colorado Plateau, Wyoming Basin, Great Basin, and central and southern Rocky Mountains.
“I am honored and thrilled to return to Dinosaur National Monument nineteen years later as the next superintendent,” said Akers. “I look forward to working with the talented and dedicated staff, affiliated Tribes, partners, local landowners, and the surrounding communities. The monument is a national treasure with outstanding cultural and natural resources that I am proud to help protect for future generations.”
Working as a seasonal forestry technician, Akers began his federal career on the Routt National Forest. He later worked as a commissioned NPS law enforcement ranger at Rocky Mountain National Park, Bandelier National Monument, Joshua Tree National Park, Yosemite National Park, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, Dinosaur National Monument and Colorado National Monument. Additionally, he has served as acting superintendent at Colorado National Monument and acting deputy superintendent at Colonial National Historical Park. He comes to Dinosaur from his current position as Chief Ranger at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
Akers will be relocating to the area with his wife, Jana, and their 10-year-old daughter. He succeeds Paul Scolari who recently accepted a new position at Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park and Pu’Uhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park.