GNP Superintendent Holm announces retirement

By CHRIS PETERSON / Hungry Horse News

He witnessed historic fires. A flood of mammoth proportions. A huge project to rebuild one of the most historic roads in America.

And now he says a humble farewell.

Glacier National Park Superintendent Mick Holm, 58, has announced his retirement from the National Park Service. His last day is Jan. 3, 2008.

Holm said he leaves the post with no regrets after 5 1/2 years on the job. It was a tumultuous tenure to put it mildly. Holm, perhaps more than any other superintendent in Glacier, steered Park management through some of the largest natural events Glacier has seen in the past century.

There were the fires of 2003, which burned more than 136,000 acres in Glacier. There was the Red Eagle Fire in 2006, which charred thousands of acres more. And then there were the floods of November 2006, which wiped out huge chunks of the Sun Road and put the road's opening for the summer season in doubt.

Nature wasn't always kind to Holm. But he weathered it well. When fire rocketed over the Apgar hills one Sunday night in August, 2003, he kept the Park open as long as possible. Many witnessed a spectacle beyond compare. When floods rocked the Park last fall, washing out big chunks of the Sun Highway, Holm quickly worked at securing funds to have it fixed. But he didn't stop there. He held public meetings to tell folks what the Park was going to do and how it was going to fix the problem.

He pulled no punches. Said the road would open July 1. It did.

And the summer of 2007, despite the damage and a delayed opening of the road, was one of the most successful ever in Glacier.

Holm said in an interview last week that he recognized it was a people's Park and that access was important. He said his decisions to keep roads open longer and allow access earlier didn't always sit well with some Park staff, but they were important to the public and to local economies.

Glacier is not an island and many people rely on it for their livelihood, he noted.

Holm also worked closely with Montana's Congressional delegation to secure funding for Going-to-the-Sun Road rehabilitation and work started in earnest on the road this summer. He also oversaw the creation of a new transit center and a popular new shuttle bus system for visitors.

"We've got that project moving in the right direction," Holm said of the Sun Road reconstruction and mitigation.

Leaving the Park will be bittersweet, Holm noted.

"There's never a good time to say you're going to retire," Holm said.

He plans on staying in valley, but what he said was that he didn't have any immediate future plans.

Holm's career trail covered five states and six parks. He began his career in 1975 at Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site, where he worked initially as a seasonal park technician and then as a museum aid. In 1977, he transferred to Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site as a ranger intake historian. His career also included: district interpreter at Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area from 1979 to 1985, park manager at Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site from 1985 to 1992, deputy superintendent at Mammoth Cave National Park from 1992 to 2000, and superintendent at Carlsbad Caverns National Park from 2000 to July 2002.

He started in Glacier July 28, 2002.

Holm is well-liked by his peers and surrounding communities. He spent most of his life in Montana; his family moved to Brady when he was 4. His wife, Patti, grew up in Conrad. He has family that also lives in the valley.

He approached the job with a Montana perspective as well, and that was appreciated by many, including members of the Blackfeet Tribe. The Tribe hasn't always had a good relationship with the Park, but they embraced Holm.

"One of the most emotional things just happened this past September when I became an honorary chief of the Blackfeet Tribe of Montana. Blackfeet Tribal Chief Earl Old Person, and several other members of the Blackfeet Tribe, performed the capture ceremony," Holm said. "My tribal name is "Spii Piita," which means High Eagle. I was touched to be given such an honor."

The ceremony took place at the Parks, Peace and Partnership Conference, which celebrated the 75th anniversary of the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park.

Holm has been honored numerous times throughout his career with Special Act or Service Awards. Additionally, in 1984, he was awarded the Superior Service Award.

Glacier National Park Deputy Superintendent Stephanie Dubois will serve as acting superintendent until the position is filled, a process which usually takes several months.

Holm said when he applied for the Glacier post, there were about 40 applicants. He said he expects Glacier will attract at least that many candidates this time around.

The process usually takes months, though Holm said he expected a successor would be named by next summer.