Jim Northup has been selected as the new chief ranger for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Northup, 47, comes to the Smokies from an assignment as Chief of Ranger Operations at Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona.

As chief ranger at the Smokies, Northup will oversee a division which employs up to 70 people who perform all the Park’s law enforcement, emergency medical services, search and rescue, campground fee collection, and emergency fire suppression. Northup succeeds Jason Houck, who passed away suddenly in March.

According to Park Superintendent Mike Tollefson, “Jim Northup is more than up to the challenge of managing this wide array of activities because he’s done all those tasks personally during a 22-year career spanning eight different national parks areas stretching from Fire Island in New York to the Grand Tetons in Wyoming. In addition, he did a stint on Capitol Hill, which will be an asset in today’s politically-charged environment.”

Prior to his assignment at the Grand Canyon, Northup was acting superintendent at Guadalupe Mountains National Park in Texas and was chief of visitor and resource protection at Big Bend National Park in Texas. His earlier postings were at Grand Teton National Park, Fire Island National Seashore in New York, Buffalo National River in Arizone, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, and Shenandoah National Park in Virgina.

“I’m really excited about my new position and I look forward to working with Smokies’ excellent staff as well as becoming a part of the Smoky Mountain community,” Northrup said.

Northup will be moving to the Smokies with his wife, Phyllis, a fine arts teacher, and their two daughters, 18 year-old Erin, who will start this fall at Colorado State University, and Amy, 15, a high school sophomore.

 

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The Smoky Mountain News