The first superintendent of Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument in northern Maine will retire in October.
Tim Hudson, who had a 50-year career with the National Park Service, took the top spot at the Katahdin monument when it was established in 2016.
“We at the Friends of Katahdin Woods and Waters are so incredibly thankful for Tim Hudson’s service to Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument,” Andrew Bossie, the friends’ executive director, said in a post on the group’s Facebook page yesterday. “Tim’s contributions to standing up Katahdin Woods and Waters are inextricably linked to the early success of this special place and the communities connected to it.”
Hudson’s successor has not been named.
Hudson was also recognized yesterday by U.S. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, who, as chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on National Parks, delivered remarks from the Senate floor.
“I just want to recognize Tim and the thousands like him throughout this country who work on our behalf quietly every day without a senator making a speech about them, but they go about their work on behalf of the American people,” said King.
King called Hudson a “guy who’s made a difference for this country for 57 years, and he’s made a huge difference for the people of Maine over the past five years.”
Hudson began his National Park Service career in 1967. In 1982, he became chief of maintenance at Yellowstone National Park, then for the Alaska Region, where he initiated alternative and sustainable energy projects and enhanced opportunities for park and regional office staff.
When Hurricane Sandy severely damaged national park units along the East Coast in 2012, Hudson left Alaska to assume oversight responsibility for the Northeast region’s hurricane recovery program.
In 2016, Hudson was named the first-ever superintendent of the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, where he has served for five years.
Over the course of his career, Hudson has received both the Department of the Interior’s Meritorious and Distinguished Service awards.
The monument was created in 2016 by presidential proclamation, following a gift of more than 87,500 acres to the United States by Burt’s Bees co-founder and philanthropist Roxanne Quimby.
Since its establishment, access has increased for visitors seeking the remote natural experiences provided within.
In August, Friends of Katahdin Woods and Waters hosted a celebration for the monument’s five-year anniversary.
“Five years ago, it was difficult to find the entrance,” said Hudson in his remarks. “Now we have new and improved accessible trails, double the number of drive-in tent sites, improved portage trails for paddlers, and of course, road signs — all because of the hard work and generous contributions of park staff, the Friends, and a growing and diverse community of volunteers, donors, and partners across the Katahdin Region, Maine, and the country.”