Apostle Islands Superintendent Will Take On Temporary Leadership Duties At Everglades

Bob Krumenaker, the superintendent of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, will begin serving as acting superintendent of the Florida Everglades National Park in Florida later this week.

The Everglades is one of the country’s most visited and iconic national parks — alligators, Burmese pythons and all.

“My guess is that the acting superintendent probably will not directly wrestle the critters,” said Krumenaker. “It’s a big park with a really talented staff, so my role will be to primarily deal with the politics and the stakeholders and the big complicated issues.”

The park has a budget six times is larger than the Apostle Islands’.

Krumenaker said the Everglades one of the world’s largest ecological restoration projects, with billions of dollars spent over the past 50 years.

“The plumbing system has been totally changed by humans over the last 100 years,” he said. “That has not just messed up the ecosystem … It’s had a major impact on Miami and the metropolitan area. Restoring the Everglades is necessary for combating climate change and keeping South Florida livable.”

Krumeneker plans to return to the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. He said he’s not a candidate for a permanent job at the Everglades.

Krumenaker said it will be tough to be gone from the Apostles from August until November, when the weather is best in the islands — especially since that’s when the Everglades will have its hottest months and see the peak of hurricane season.