The National Park Service (NPS) has selected Jay Sturdevant as the superintendent of Scotts Bluff National Monument and Agate Fossil Beds National Monument located in western Nebraska. Sturdevant is currently serving as the integrated resources division lead at Pearl Harbor National Monument and Honouliuli National Historic Site in Honolulu, Hawaii. He will assume his new role at the monuments this fall.
Scotts Bluff National Monument was established in 1919 by Presidential Proclamation, making it the first time that the Antiquities Act was used to preserve a landscape based on westward expansion. The monument encompasses over 3,000 acres of prairie and bluff habitat in western Nebraska. Agate Fossil Beds National Monument was designated in 1965 to protect unique Miocene epoch fossils and associated quarries, provide a center for continuing paleontological research, and to preserve the James H. Cook and Red Cloud Native American ethnographic collection. The monument is located approximately 50 miles north of Scotts Bluff National Monument.
“I am pleased to announce Jay Sturdevant as the next superintendent of Scotts Bluff National Monument and Agate Fossil Beds National Monument,” said NPS Midwest Regional Director Bert Frost. “His extensive experience in natural and cultural resource management will be a great asset to both park units, along with his ability to communicate effectively across program areas and with external partners. I look forward to welcoming him back to the Midwest Region.”
Sturdevant brings over 25 years of NPS experience. He began his career working as an archeological technician at Dinosaur National Monument before serving as an archeologist and cultural resource advisor at the Midwest Archeological Center in Nebraska for 22 years. His prior experience includes an acting superintendent assignment at Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site in 2017. Sturdevant received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology from Colorado State University in 1999 and a Master of Arts degree in Anthropology from the University of Nebraska in 2001.
“I am very excited for the opportunity to return to Nebraska,” said Sturdevant. “I look forward to working with the staff, local interests, Tribal partners, and the public to develop a vision for both Nebraska parks that builds on each park’s past achievements and future goals.”
Jay and his wife Christina are planning to return to Nebraska this October. They enjoy spending time together hiking, camping, reading books, puzzling, playing with their dog Charlie-Jellybean, and gardening. They are looking forward to relearning how to bundle-up in wintertime.