<< Back 10/2/02 Smokies Superintendant Tollefson transferred By Don Hendershot After two short years at the helm of the nation’s most visited national park, Smokies Superintendent Mike Tollefson will be returning to California. The National Park Service announced last week that Tollefson was being assigned to replace Dave Mihalic as superintendent of Yosemite National Park in December. Tollefson will be charged with overseeing the implementation of the Yosemite Valley Plan, a controversial plan to restore Yosemite after major flooding along the Merced River in 1997 wiped out campgrounds and other facilities. The Yosemite Valley Plan has many detractors, including the chair of the subcommittee on National Parks and Public Lands, U.S. Rep. George Radanovich, (R-Calif.) who serves the district where Yosemite is located. The news of the NPS decision to move Mihalic was leaked from Radanovich’s office; however, aides in the congressman’s office were quoted in the Modesto Bee as saying Radanovich did not seek Mihalic’s transfer. Tollefson, who has been praised for consensus building here and reaching out to gateway communities near the GSMNP, says he doesn’t anticipate any change in his management style. “Yosemite is different from the Smokies. Everything in Yosemite is controversial. It’s like jumping from the frying pan into the fire,” Tollefson said. “Of course, we’re sorry to see him [Tollefson] go,” said Bob Miller, spokesman for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. “Mike has been a really accessible superintendent, both to the park community and to staff. He has started some major projects and continued projects we had in place when he arrived.” Under Tollefson’s supervision the GSMNP has begun public hearings to try and find a solution for the traffic congestion in Cades Cove, established a process for deciding the fate of the old Elkmont cabins, reintroduced elk into the Smokies, continued a native brook trout restoration program, implemented the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory, entered into an agreement with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians to study the feasibility of a land swap at Ravensford, and is set to begin public meetings concerning the fate of the proposed North Shore Road. “I am really sad about leaving. I love the Smokies and it’s been a wonderful experience, but every once and awhile you get one of those calls you weren’t expecting. You can either go or leave,” said Tollefson, who is a participant in the government’s Senior Executive Service. Members of the SES receive more training and get higher wages but they are assigned at the discretion of the Department of Interior and/or the NPS. When given an assignment, SES participants have basically three choices: accept, quit, or if they have enough time in, retire. The NPS decision was originally announced as a swap, with Mihalic being assigned as superintendent at the GSMNP. However, according to NPS spokesman David Barna, Mihalic “has not signed on the dotted line yet.” Mihalic, who is also an SES participant, has until Oct. 4 to make his decision. “He basically has two options — take the transfer or retire,” Barna said. The move would be somewhat of a homecoming for both superintendents. Tollefson came to the Smokies in 2000 from Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Parks, about four hours drive south of Yosemite. According to NPS Director Fran Mainella, it was Tollefson’s work at Sequoia/Kings Canyon that makes him the perfect choice for the Yosemite job. “I believe in capitalizing on the strengths of our leadership. Mike’s ability to implement the Giant Forest restoration, a project that took years of planning, was nothing short of miraculous. He is the man for the job of implementing the funded portion of the Yosemite Valley Plan,” Mainella said in a press release. Mihalic, who has been superintendent at Yosemite since 1999, was assistant superintendent at the GSMNP from 1985-87. In 1987 Mihalic became superintendent at Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky where he was named Superintendent of the Year. Mihalic then worked in Washington, D.C., and Glacier National Park before going to Yosemite. Miller said it is not uncommon for the NPS to have one person develop a plan and then another to implement it, especially if it’s controversial.