Dan Wenk
Dan Wenk has proven himself a fearless champion for the wise management and conservation of our nation’s public landscapes. During his over 40 year career with the National Park Service (NPS) Dan's personal and professional commitment to the ''proper management of the nation 's public lands and the judicious use of the [country’s] natural (and cultural) resources," combined expertly with his deep understanding of the breadth and depth of landscape architecture, comprised the basis for all of his work. Dan completed his landscape architecture degree at Michigan State University. Soon after graduation, Dan joined NPS as a landscape architect and successfully developed innovative solutions to some of the most challenging tasks at hand for the NPS.
Dan served as superintendent of Mount Rushmore National Memorial, where he oversaw natural and cultural resource management programs to ensure the long-term preservation of the sculpture and the natural area of the surrounding forest. He later served as director of the NPS Denver Service Center, where he managed more than half a billion dollars in active construction projects. He was later appointed superintendent of Yellowstone National Park. Dan’s extensive portfolio of work has earned him numerous national awards, including the Department of the Interior Secretary’s Executive leadership Award and the Meritorious Service Award.
View nominating and supporting materials.