After overseeing Yellowstone National Park for nearly eight highly eventful years, superintendent Cam Sholly plans to step down by the end of the month.
Since taking charge on Oct. 14, 2018, Sholly has helmed Yellowstone through some of the biggest disruptive events in recent memory.
Most notably, the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and catastrophic flooding in 2022.
Sholly’s departure has been anticipated for months. Rumors swirled that he’d become frustrated with the direction of the National Park Service under the Trump administration and U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.
Nothing could be further from the truth, Sholly told Cowboy State Daily on Friday.
“Secretary Burgum has been very, very supportive,” Sholly said. “He’s been out here three times."
Sholly's departure “has nothing to do with that (rumored conflict with the administration),” he said. "I’ve been here for an eight-year run, and I’ve got a fantastic opportunity in the private sector.”
Sholly, 56, is set to take over as chief operations officer for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
Rob Wallace, a former assistant interior secretary, Wyoming resident Rob Wallace and friend of Sholly's, told Cowboy State Daily that finding a successor will be a tall order.
“It’s a big loss for the National Park Service and a big win for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation,” said Wallace, who oversaw the Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service during the first Trump presidency.
‘We Set the Example’
Sholly repeatedly praised the dedication and expertise of park staff as he recounted some of the major events of his tenure.
“We really set the example during COVID. We kept the park open and operating,” he said. “The handling of the floods in 2022 is the epitome of the ultimate team effort between the park staff and the states.”
Less than six weeks after the park opened for the summer season, during its 150th anniversary in 2022, a late spring rainstorm caused millions of gallons of water to carve away at hillsides, consume roads, and tear away bridges — and homes — in the park and along the Yellowstone River.
Staff had half of the park’s roads reopened within eight days, and more than 90% reopened in less than a month, Sholly said.
Expect the Unexpected
As superintendent, Sholly knew he had to be prepared for anything and everything.
Such was the case on the morning of July 4, 2024, when there was a shootout between park rangers and a suspect armed with a semi-automatic rifle at Canyon Village.
Samson Lucas Bariah Fussner, 28, an employee of Yellowstone contractor Xanterra Travel Collection, took a woman hostage that morning. He was killed in an exchange of gunfire that left a park ranger with a gunshot wound to one of his feet.
Sholly said the rapid response and cool-headed professionalism of law enforcement rangers kept that situation from spiraling into something much worse.
“He (Fussner) came out of the woods at 8 o’clock in the morning with an AR-15, and the rangers were ready for him,” Sholly said.
‘I Have A Son His Age’
A heartbreaking episode of Sholly’s tenure involved the so-far fruitless search for concessions employee Austin King, 22. King went missing on Sept. 17, 2024, after scaling Eagle Peak, the park’s highest mountain at elevation 11,361 feet.
Sholly impressed many by strapping on his hiking boots and personally joining the search.
He said it was simply the right thing to do, and he also had a personal stake in the outcome.
“I have a son the same age as Austin King,” Sholly said. “There are aspects of this job that you take personally. And you want to be involved, not be just sitting in headquarters.”
“My role was nothing compared to the larger search efforts,” Sholly added.
King’s case still haunts him.
“It’s very unfortunate that we haven’t found him, but it hasn’t been for a lack of trying,” he said.
Record Numbers
COVID lockdowns in urban areas drove more people toward the outdoors. That might have been why Yellowstone’s visitation surged to a record of nearly 4.9 million in 2021.
It’s stayed high since. This year’s visitation is on track to hit 4.7 million, Sholly said.
That’s led some to suggest that the park is being “loved to death” by mobs of tourists.
That’s not true, Sholly said. Most visitors stay within close proximity of the main paved roads, leaving plenty of wide-open backcountry for wildlife and more adventurous visitors.
Moreover, even the roadways aren’t nearly as crowded as they’re made out to be, Sholly said.
Yellowstone is famous for wildlife jams, when people pull over to gawk at grizzlies, wolves, or other megafauna that wander close to roadways.
“I don’t like it when people take pictures of that traffic jam and try to paint the picture that’s what the entire park looks like. Most of the time, you can drive the speed limit on the main roads,” Sholly said.
So, he’s enthusiastic about the number of visitors Yellowstone has been getting and confident the park has a bright future ahead as it remains hugely popular.
“We’re delivering what people want to see,” Sholly said.
Wildlife Attacks Are Rare
High-profile wildlife attacks might also generate hyperbole and project the false impression that Yellowstone isn’t safe, Sholly said.
On May 4, two brothers were mauled by a grizzly on the Mystic Falls Trail.
On July 10, Washington State resident Carl Isom-McDaniel, 65, suffered serious injuries when he was tossed eight feet into the air by a bull bison at Bridge Bay Campground.
Though such incidents generate a huge buzz, it’s important to keep the actual risk in perspective, Sholly said.
“Considering the amount of wildlife we have, relative to the millions of people visiting, those incidents are rare,” he said.
For that, he credits the park staff’s efforts to educate tourists about the basics of wildlife safety.
And most of those visitors who trek the Yellowstone backcountry take those lessons to heart and behave properly around grizzlies, bison, and other large wildlife, Sholly said.
‘The Fourth Governor’
Sholly reiterated that there’s no negativity or bitterness in his decision to move on.
Despite national headlines about massive personnel cuts under Burgum, Yellowstone has stayed well-staffed and morale has been high, Sholly said.
After nearly 30 years with the Park Service, capped by a long tenure as a flagship park’s superintendent, it makes sense to move into the private sector and continue to champion conservation, he said.
“There was no pressure (to leave). I could have easily stayed for a couple more years,” he said.
Wallace said Sholly’s work in Yellowstone has set the standard for park superintendents nationwide.
“He’s knowledgeable, he’s decisive,” Wallace said.
Sholly’s leadership during the 2022 floods is a prime example, he said.
“Cam didn’t wait around for a lot of bureaucrats to get involved in telling him how to fix the problem. He just acted immediately,” Wallace said.
Sholly’s professionalism left his mark on one of the most important positions in the Mountain West, he added.
“He’s the equivalent of the fourth governor in the region because of the strong relationships he’s built with Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho,” Wallace said.
Sholly will relocate to Washington, D.C., for his new job and said he’ll miss the beauty of Yellowstone.
“You can’t beat the grandeur of Yosemite, but you also can’t beat the wildness of Yellowstone,” he said.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
