Eads selected

Special to The TIMES

OMAHA -- Kevin Eads, a 24-year veteran of the National Park Service, has been selected as the new superintendent of Pea Ridge National Military Park (Pea Ridge NMP) following the retirement of John C. Scott. Eads, currently the chief of Resource Management at the park, begins his new assignment March 8, 2015.

"We are proud to have Kevin as the next superintendent of Pea Ridge NMP," stated acting Midwest Regional director Patricia Trap. "His familiarity with the park resources and his proven dedication to this park will be a tremendous asset."

"He is well-known and well-respected throughout the community, and has fostered partnerships with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and the National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative to continue restoration of the landscapes within the park."

Eads said: "As the Chief of Resource Management at Pea Ridge NMP, I have lived and worked with the local communities of northwest Arkansas for the past 12 years. As the new superintendent, I am privileged to remain at the park and to continue working with great staff, incredible park neighbors, partners and the communities of northwest Arkansas in the restoration and preservation of one of the most pivotal, and intact, Civil War battlefields in the United States."

Eads, who holds a B.S. in wildlife biology from Northeastern State University in Oklahoma and an M.S. in forest resources from the University of Arkansas, Monticello, began his National Park Service career at George Washington Carver National Monument. He has also worked at George Washington's Birthplace National Monument, and completed detail assignments at Petersburg National Battlefield and Booker T. Washington National Monument. As a resource manager at Arkansas Post National Memorial, he developed the park's GIS database, conducted multiple studies, developed a cooperative agreement with the University of Arkansas at Monticello, and received the Natural Resource Trish Patterson Student Conservation Association Award for developing the park into a natural laboratory for resource issues.

Eads enjoys spending time with his family, advising on Odyssey of the Mind projects, fishing, gardening, hiking and hunting. He and wife LaDena, an assistant principal at Springdale High School, have been married for 23 years and have two sons, Chad and Hunter.