Leonard hired to fill South District Ranger role

Denali National Park Chief Ranger Pete Armington has announced the appointment of John Leonard of Talkeetna to the position of South District Ranger.

Leonard took on the role of Acting South District Ranger when Daryl Miller retired last December. He continued his role as lead climbing ranger through the summer as well as managing the staff. It was unclear who would fill Miller’s shoes the past 10 months as the park service closed, and then re-opened, the position.

Leonard has worked at the Talkeetna Ranger Station in various capacities since January 2002. At 35 years old, he will be the youngest South District Ranger to take the position.

He began his climbing career in the early 1990s as a guide with Alpine Ascents International, guiding climbs on Mount Rainer, Aconcagua  and Denali. During that period he also did personal climbs in the Himalayas, including Everest. Leonard joined the National Park Service in 1999 as a backcountry ranger at Mount Rainier, patrolling the park and working on mountain sanitation issues. Leonard was hired as a mountaineering ranger at Denali National Park in 2002, and received his federal law enforcement commission in 2004 after attending training and working a detail assignment at Grand Canyon National Park.

The South District Ranger oversees the climbing staff and volunteers, daily visitor operations at the Talkeetna Ranger Station and monitors hunting and backcountry activities in park and preserve lands south of the Alaska Range.