so bob stanton here to my right. grew up in ft. worth. he was recruited into a summer seasonal job while he was a student at houston hiliton college. that began a long career stretching out some 54 years in the nation's service as a stalwart member of the national parks service. so he started at the bottom in grand teton national park and worked his way all the way to the top when bill clinton, president bill clinton appointed him the director of the national parks service from 1997 to 2001. before that, he was superintendent of national capital park in the d.c. area as a virginia islands national park. he then served as regional director for the national capital region. and then he made the mistake of retiring, which meant that he was even in greater demand. and so he has served as senior adviser to the secretary of the department of interior, and then was appointed by president obama in 2014 for a four-year term on the advisory council on historic preservation. joan jenson unfortunately is home in bed in the d.c. area with flu. so she s

i will speak about that after bob stanton talks. i was a member of the second century commission, of which delivered a report to congress and the president on the state of affairs in the national park service. with those introductions i will turn to bob stanton it was going to reflect on all the many years in the parks service and some of the problems he sees. mr. stanton: he or she is a better citizen with a keener appreciation of living here in the united states who has toured the national parks, stephen matthey, the first director of the national park service. good afternoon. it's a pleasure to be with you. let me hasten to thank bill and gary, two pillars, to scholars, two outstanding friends of your national parks national park service. and he i have known and worked with the settlement for many, many years. i also want to thank the leadership of the organization of american historians for the gracious invitation to be with you. when i think about speaking to such an august body, scholars among all of you, and it couple that wi

parks and others and was one of the co-authors of imperilled promise that i'll speak about after bob stanton talks, and i was a member of the second century commission which delivered the report to congress on the state of affairs in the national parks service. so with those introductions, i'll turn to bob stanton, who's going to reflect on all these years in the parks service and some of the problems he sees. >> he or she is a better citizen with a keener appreciation of living here in the united states, who has toured the national parks. steven mather, the first director of the national parks service. good afternoon. it's a pleasure to be with you. and let me hasten to thank bill and gary, two pillars, if you will, two scholars and two outstanding friends of your national parks and your national parks service, that have known and worked with these gentlemen for many, many years. but also, to thank the leadership of the organization of american historians for the gracious invitation to be with you. when i think about it, scholars among all of you, and coupled with the opportunity to speak a

so with those introductions, i'll turn to bob stanton, who's going to reflect on all these years in the parks service and some of the problems he sees. >> he or she is a better citizen with a keener appreciation of living here in the united states, who has toured the national parks. steven mather, the first director of the national parks service. good afternoon. it's a pleasure to be with you. and let me hasten to thank bill and gary, two pillars, if you will, two scholars and two outstanding friends of your national parks and your national parks service, that have known and worked with these gentlemen for many, many years. but also, to thank the leadership of the organization of american historians for the gracious invitation to be with you. when i think about it, scholars among all of you, and coupled with the opportunity to speak about an agency that i've been associated with directly and indirectly for over half of a century, it's difficult to discipline my long windedness, because it is something that i cherish the opportunity to share the richness of the national parks and the res

with those introductions, i will ton to bob stanton was going reflect on all these many years in the park service. some of the problems he sees. >> she or he is a better citizen with a keen appreciation for living here in the united states who has toured the national parks. good afternoon. it's a pleasure to be with you. bill andsten to thank gary. two scholars and outstanding friends of your national park service. i've work with these gentlemen for many years. i want to thank the leadership of the organization of american historians for the gracious invitation to be with you. scholarsink about into -- think about speaking to difficult tois discipline my long-winded miss because it is something i cherish the eternity to share the richness of the national responsibility of the parks service with such an audience. i will attempt to be brief because we want to allow some opportunity to interact with you ladies and gentlemen. even --earlier about recognizing the benefits of the national parks saying they divide and experience for us to become better citizens. assuming each of you have vi

so bob stanton here to my right. grew up in ft. worth. he was recruited into a summer seasonal job while he was a student at houston hiliton college. that began a long career stretching out some 54 years in the nation's service as a stalwart member of the national parks service. so he started at the bottom in grand teton national park and worked his way all the way to the top when bill clinton, president bill clinton appointed him the director of the national parks service from 1997 to 2001. before that, he was superintendent of national capital park in the d.c. area as a virginia islands national park. he then served as regional director for the national capital region. and then he made the mistake of retiring, which meant that he was even in greater demand. and so he has served as senior adviser to the secretary of the department of interior, and then was appointed by president obama in 2014 for a four-year term on the advisory council on historic preservation. joan jenson unfortunately is home in bed in the d.c. area with flu. so she s

so with those introductions, i'll turn to bob stanton, who's going to reflect on all these years in the parks service and some of the problems he sees. >> he or she is a better citizen with a keener appreciation of living here in the united