Volcano Man: New Superintendent
Enjoys Craters of the Moon
MagicValley.com
Twin Falls, Idaho
June 23, 2006
By TIMES-NEWS WRITER
ARCO — More by chance than design, Doug Neighbor seems to have a
thing for volcanoes. Three of the six places he’s worked are
decidedly volcanic, including Oregon’s Crater Lake National Park
and the National Park of Samoa.
And now, Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve.
Neighbor is the new superintendent of the park, moving here four
months ago from his position as superintendent of the park in
Samoa, America’s 50th park and the only one south of the
equator.
“About half of my career I’ve been at parks associated with
volcanism,” said Neighbor from his office last week. “I like
being in remote and rural communities and I know that the park
is important to the local economy.”
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SITES/Times-News
Doug Neighbor, the new superintendent of Craters of
the Moon National Monument and Preserve near Arco,
looks across the lava landscape near the popular
spatter cones and big craters area. Neighbor, a
15-year employee of the National Park Service, came
to the park four months ago from the National |
Craters, Neighbor noted, is unique not only geologically but
also because it has a partnership with the Bureau of Land
Management. “This is one of the monuments that is associated
with other agencies — this one is the BLM,” said Neighbor.
Although many people believe that Neighbor’s job must be
nothing short of awesome, the balancing act a park
superintendent must perform day-to-day between
environmentalists and park users is often tricky.
“I actually have a lot of paperwork, executive orders and
regulations to weed through,” Neighbor said. “I have to
balance the uses that occur within the park and we don’t
always anticipate the use, such as snowboarding down sand
dunes.” Making difficult decisions and managing a national
park almost didn’t happen for the Texas A & M grad.
“When I was in high school in California I took backpacking
classes and went into the Sierras,” said Neighbor. “My
aptitude tests mentioned outdoor work, but in college I had
several majors before finally graduating with a degree in
wildlife and fisheries science.”
From there, Neighbor started with bird and mountain lion
research in Big Bend National Park in Texas. Since joining
the National Park Service 15 years ago, Neighbor has worked
at six national parks, including Utah’s Bryce Canyon and Big
Thicket in east Texas.
The superintendent left the island paradise of Samoa to a
new future and challenge at Craters of the Moon. “It wasn’t
a career move because I was superintendent there,” said
Neighbor. “I like new experiences and I longed for the
mainland and being closer to family.”
The future of the park is literally in his hands.
“We’re at the tail end of our management plan and waiting on
a Record of Decision,” Neighbor said. “We’re looking at
maybe establishing another visitor center at the southern
end and maybe bringing other agencies in, such as Fish and
Game and state parks.” Most importantly, Neighbor knows the
consequences of his stewardship role.
“Being able to manage a unit of the park service and to
protect it for future generations, that’s what I’m proud
of.”
Q&A box
Four questions with Doug Neighbor, the new superintendent of
Craters of the Moon:
Q: What’s the difference between a national monument and a
national park?
A: With a monument the president can use the Antiquities Act
to protect land without congressional approval. With
national parks, Congress can designate use and spell out why
it is a park.
Q: What’s unique about Craters of the Moon?
A: There are many different lava flows and most are fairly
recent. There are a lot of unique geological features and
when it comes to rifts, this is it — the Great Rift is the
biggest in North America.
Q: What do you want visitors to take home with them?
A: Hopefully, they will take home a better sense of the
environment, that they can take that to their own backyard
and appreciate it even more.
Q: In the short time that you’ve been at Craters of the
Moon, what have you enjoyed the most?
A: I certainly enjoyed the snowshoeing in winter. I’ve only
been here four months, but I really enjoy how quiet it can
be and the night sky.
