Jordan Neumann (Photo courtesy of National Park Service)
Park Superintendent Jason Taylor named Jordan Neumann the new Chief Ranger for Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park in Skagway. It is the most visited national park in the state, host to nearly one million yearly guests.
In total, Neumann has worked in nearly a dozen national parks. His first was Yosemite National Park in California, nearly two decades ago.
“The first minute driving into the park and seeing the grand vista with El Cap[itan] and Half Dome in the background, I immediately know that whatever I had just gone to college for was a waste of my time and I was now gonna devote my time to being in the outdoors and hopefully in the national parks,” he said.
Chief Ranger is a short title for the head of visitor and resource protection division–it is the lead law enforcement position for the park. In addition to law enforcement, they oversee emergency service response, search and rescue, aviation patrol, permitting, and fire response. Former Chief Ranger Tim Steidel retired last year.
Neumann has experience coordinating law enforcement and emergency response for busy park areas. He has worked in and for national parks in a wide range of positions–from concessionaire to cross country ski guide, and interpretation ranger to resource protection.
“I feel like it’s all been leading to this,” said Neumann.
“I’ve gotten a real big picture view of what goes on in and near the national parks. I grew up in a very small town, so I’m used to living in small towns and remote places, so I feel like the Chief Ranger job is what I’m looking for. The kind of place I want to work at, the kind of community I want to live in.”
Neumann currently serves the National Park Service as Naknek District Ranger for Katmai National Park in King Salmon, Alaska.
When he’s not in a park Neumann and his wife like to travel. On a trip to Australia they visited Steve Irwin’s zoo. Neumann saw something moving on the ground in the parking lot as they were leaving.
“It was a baby carpet python. It was only 6, 8 inches long. So I picked it up and I was like, ‘Wow, what a cool thing to be able to catch a snake on Steve Irwin’s property just like he did.’”
As Neumann held up the snake, Irwin himself drove by.
“So I held it up and let it wriggle… He had the window halfway down and he gave me a big smile and a thumbs up as he went by.”
Neumann and his wife are originally from Massachusetts. They will arrive in Skagway this June.
