John J. Reynolds was born a park ranger’s son in Yellowstone, and has spent the rest of his life growing up in and being dedicated to parks, conservation and youth.
He had what he describes as “the most fun and satisfying career of anyone he knows” during his nearly 40 year career with the National Park Service.
Following student landscape architect jobs in Yellowstone and Guadalupe Mountains National Parks in 1966 he became a a landscape architect/park planner working on and leading long range planning for a wide variety of parks including Saratoga National Historical Park, Acadia National Park, Cape Cod National Seashore, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park and Yosemite National Park. During implementation of the
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act he led a team which resulted in authorization of Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Kobuk Valley National Park and large additions to Denali National Park. He then headed two different park planning sections of the Denver Service Center.
In a major career change, in 1979 he was assigned as assistant superintendent for planning and resource management of the newly authorized Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, CA. He led creation of the park’s first long range plan, to be accomplished in large degree in partnership with the California State Parks and other park, county and city jurisdictions within the boundary.
In 1984 he became superintendent of North Cascades National Park, WA with a mandate to lead the park through a major management reorientation and professionalization, a more conservation focused long range plan, and inclusion of partnerships to accomplish major goals. In partnership with others, he championed creation of the North Cascades Institute, one of the most respected educational organizations in the National Park Service.
In late 1988 he became Manager, Denver Service Center, leading it through one of the Service’s largest planning, design and construction periods. He also conceived of and led the creation of the “NPS Guidelines for Sustainable Design,” the forerunner of broad and inclusive sustainability policies for the Service. During this assignment he also served as the head of an Environment and Sustainability task force for the American Society of Landscape Architects.
In early 1993 he served as director of the Mid-Atlantic Region, based in Philadelphia. Unexpectedly, new NPS director Roger Kennedy asked him to become his deputy director, beginning in mid-1993. During this assignment, in addition to being responsible for all operations of the entire Service, he led a
massive reduction of central office staffs, transfer of those positions to parks, and reducing the number of regions from ten to seven, with boundaries based on ecological relationships.
In 1997, following six months as Interim Manager of the Presidio of San Francisco, he became director of the Pacific West Region. While there he led negotiations with the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe to create a reservation including part of Death Valley National Park and other federal lands within the tribe’s ancestral homelands. He also championed activation of Manzanar National Historic Site and Rosie the Riveter National Historical Park.
During his career, he championed National Park Service involvement and leadership in international conservation, advising on park issues in 12 countries including Saudi Arabia, Poland, India, and the USSR. He strongly supported the advent of the “sister park” agreements between parks with commonalities in the United States and other countries. He represented the United States for six years to the World Heritage Committee.
Following retirement in 2002, John has worked for the National Park Foundation as Senior Fellow and as Executive Vice President and the Student Conservation Association as Government Relations manager. He served on the boards of several nonprofits including the Student Conservation Association, Landscape Architecture Foundation, George Wright Society, Partners for Public Lands, Shenandoah National Park Trust and as a founding board member of the Friends of the John Smith Trail, the Chesapeake Conservancy, Global Parks, the Chesapeake Conservation Partnership and the Friends of Flight 93.
He represented the Secretary of the Interior on the board of the Presidio Trust for eight years. He chaired federal advisory groups for Flight 93 National Memorial, the John Smith Chesapeake national Historic Trail and Fort Hancock 21st
Century at Gateway National Recreation Area. He was Virginia Citizen Representative to the Chesapeake Bay Commission for six years and an active member of the California Parks Forward Commission, formed to provide a roadmap for the system into the future. He currently serves on the board of the Fort Monroe Authority and the Chesapeake Conservancy.
He is a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects and a recipient of its Alfred B. Lagasse Award for ”management and conservancy” in public service.
He has been awarded the Department of the Interior Meritorious and Distinguished Service awards for his leadership within the National Park Service.
After high school at the Phillips Exeter Academy, he earned a Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture degree from Iowa State University and a MLA from the State University College of Forestry at Syracuse University.
He served six years in the New Jersey National Guard and the Army Reserve. He lives in Crozet, VA and is married to Barbara (Bobbie) Reynolds, who was born and raised in Yosemite Valley, where she worked for the park concessioner and then the National Park Service. Their son, Mike, is National Park Service regional director of the Intermountain Region. His brother, Bob, was a highly respected career interpreter and biologist, superintendent of several national parks and deputy regional director of the Intermountain Region.