New Yellowstone boss named following predecessor's ouster

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A new superintendent was named Wednesday to Yellowstone National Park, one of the crown jewels of the park system, after his predecessor said he was being forced out by the Trump administration following a dispute over bison.

Cameron "Cam" Sholly will replace Dan Wenk, who has been superintendent since 2011, according to the Department of Interior.
Sholly's start date is yet to be determined, said Interior spokeswoman Heather Swift.
He served as Midwest regional director for the park service since 2015, where he was involved in reintroducing wolves to Isle Royale National Park, oversaw a $380 million renovation of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis and worked to improve relations with American Indian tribes, according to the Interior Department.
Sholly could not be reached immediately for comment. In a statement put out by the Interior Department, he said he was honored to have the chance to work at Yellowstone, established in 1872 as the first national park.
Yellowstone covers 3,400 square miles (8,900 square kilometers) straddling the borders of Montana, Wyoming and Idaho. Its erupting geysers, cascading waterfalls and abundant wildlife attract tourists from around the world.
More than 4 million people visited in each of the past three years. Last month was the park's busiest May on record. That's put an increasing strain on its natural resources and led to frequent conflicts between people and wildlife, including numerous instances of visitors being injured by grizzly bears, bison, elk and other animals.
Sholly is a third-generation park service employee and went to high school just north of Yellowstone in Gardiner, Montana, when his father was assigned to Yellowstone, Alex Picavet said, chief of communications for the park service's Midwest region.
His first job for the park service was in Yellowstone in 1990, as a seasonal worker in the park's maintenance division, Picavet said.
"The Midwest region is very sad to have him leave," Picavet said. "He's a strong leader who has brought amazing change and opportunity to the Midwest region."
Wenk planned to retire next March but was told last week he would be gone by August. He said his ouster followed disagreements with Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke over the size of the park's world-famous bison herds.
Ranchers and state livestock officials in neighboring Montana, where Zinke served as a U.S. representative before he became Interior secretary, have long pushed to reduce the size of the herds because of concerns over the disease brucellosis. About half of Yellowstone's bison test positive for the disease, which can cause animals to prematurely abort their young.
Park biologists contend the population of more than 4,000 bison is sustainable. But Zinke and his staff have said the number is too high, Wenk said, and have raised concerns that Yellowstone's scenic Lamar Valley is being damaged by overgrazing.
–––
Follow Matthew Brown on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MatthewBrownAP .