Dinosaur National Monument will have a new leader at the helm when Phil Akers takes on the role of superintendent this summer. Akers will officially begin his new assignment on June 16, bringing with him a wealth of experience and knowledge from over 25 years of service in the National Park Service.

Akers has deep roots in western Colorado, with his family having settled in the Kanna Creek area near the town of White Water in Mesa County in the mid-1880s.

Deputy Regional Director Brian Carlstrom praised Akers as a “resourceful and result-driven leader” and noted his extensive experience in the region, including a previous stint at Dinosaur National Monument.

The new role will see Akers overseeing a team of 50 permanent and 40 seasonal employees at the monument. The staff works to protect the area’s diverse natural and cultural resources, which span the Colorado Plateau, Wyoming Basin, Great Basin and central/southern Rocky Mountains.

“I am honored and thrilled to return to Dinosaur National Monument nineteen years later as the next superintendent,” said Akers. “I look forward to working with the talented and dedicated staff, affiliated Tribes, partners, local landowners and the surrounding communities. The monument is a national treasure with outstanding cultural and natural resources that I am proud to help protect for future generations.”   

Akers began his federal career as a seasonal forestry technician at Routt National Forest and later worked as a commissioned Park Service law enforcement ranger at various parks across the country, including Rocky Mountain National Park, Bandelier National Monument, Joshua Tree National Park, Yosemite National Park, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado National Monument and Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park.

Additionally, he has served as acting superintendent at Colorado National Monument and acting deputy superintendent at Colonial National Historical Park.

He currently serves as Chief Ranger at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. 

Akers will be relocating to the area with his wife, Jana, and their 10-year-old daughter. He succeeds Paul Scolari, who recently accepted a new position at Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park and Pu’uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park in Hawaii.