CORBA congratulates Woody Smeck, Superintendent of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA) on his new appointment. He’s leaving on March 30 to become Deputy Superintendent at Yosemite National Park. Woody came to the SMMNRA as a landscape architect in 1990. He worked his way up and was appointed Superintendent in 2001. During his tenure, the SMMNRA grew in stature in the National Park system. Woody helped politicians understand the importance of National Parks near developed urban areas. He helped foster interagency coordination and cooperation with the California Department of Parks and Recreation, the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, and other agencies in the SMMNRA. He helped keep park programs on track in difficult budgetary times.
Most important to the mountain bike community, Woody was always accessible, fair, and honest in his dealings with us. There is more mountain bike access on NPS land in the SMMNRA than anywhere else in the country. Woody has been clear that responsible mountain biking is manageable on public lands and has expressed that view to his NPS peers. We owe him a huge debt of gratitude.
Woody has been a pleasure to work with and we’ll miss him. Our loss is Yosemite’s gain. A search is underway for a new NPS Superintendent in the SMMNRA.
