Paul Scolari is the new superintendent for Dinosaur National Monument/NPS.

Acting Intermountain Regional Director Kate Hammond announced the selection of Paul Scolari as Superintendent of Dinosaur National Monument in Colorado and Utah. Scolari will also supervise the Superintendent of Fossil Butte National Monument in Wyoming, and will begin his new assignment on March 31, 2019.

Scolari has over 24 years of National Park Service experience and is currently the Chief of Resource Management and Planning at a group of national parks in the San Francisco Bay Area--Eugene O’Neill and John Muir National Historic Sites, Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial, and Rosie the Riveter-WWII Home Front National Historical Park. His prior job was at Golden Gate National Recreation Area, where he performed the duties of historian, American Indian liaison, and historic preservation specialist. Recently, Scolari completed details as Acting Superintendent at American Memorial Park in Saipan and War in the Pacific National Historical Park in Guam, and as Legislative Affairs Specialist in the Legislative and Congressional Affairs Office in Washington, D.C. He will complete the highly regarded Office of Personnel Management Leadership Development Program in Monterey, California at the end of March.

“Paul is known for his steady demeanor, level-headedness, collaborative approach, and an open and inclusive management style,” said Acting Regional Director Kate Hammond. “This, along with his experience working with park partners will serve him well at Dinosaur National Monument.” 

Scolari stated, “The opportunity to lead a talented National Park Service staff and work with passionate stakeholders in stewarding majestic lands and waters for the American public fulfills a dream that has taken shape over the course of my career.”  He added, “Dinosaur and Fossil Butte are enchanting places; I am honored and grateful for the opportunity to take a place among my predecessors in caring for them.” 

Scolari holds a Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh where he studied the commemoration of the American Frontier in public monuments. He is married to wife Lynnette, and together they have two daughters, Beatrix, 22, and Imogen, 16. In his free time, Scolari likes to get outside, hitting the trails to hike, run, or ski and the garden dirt to cultivate native plants. 

Dinosaur National Monument spans over 210,000 acres along the Colorado Utah border and contains the remains of fossilized dinosaurs, dramatic, wild river canyons, evidence of 10,000 years of human habitation, and an array of animal and plant life. Fossil Butte National Monument, located in southwest Wyoming, preserves a portion of the Green River Formation, which is known for having the highest density of fish fossils in the world. The abundance, diversity and preservation of the fossils found here is extraordinary and nearly unparalleled in the fossil record.