DENVER — After five years without a Senate-confirmed director at the National Park Service, Charles Sams will bring a fresh vision and a strong commitment to carry out President Biden’s ambitious agenda to restore public lands and expand access for the benefit of all Americans. The National Wildlife Federation urged the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which will take up his nomination next week, to swiftly send his nomination to the full Senate. 

“At a time when our national parks face challenges from record numbers of visitors and unprecedented threats from a changing climate, Charles Sams is committed to enhancing our national parks and making them more accessible for all people,” said David Willms, senior director of Western wildlife and conservation at the National Wildlife Federation. “After decades of deferred maintenance, there is much work to be done to ensure our national parks remain America’s ‘best idea’ for generations to come. We urge the Senate to act quickly on this nomination.”

Sams is an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and the first Native American to be nominated to serve as director of the National Park Service.