Two new leaders are in place at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. John Broward has been selected as chief ranger and Ross Williams is the park’s new fire management officer.
As chief ranger, Broward and will direct visitor and resource protection for the 333,086-acre park.
Broward has served the National Park Service since 1983, and has an extensive background in search and rescue, helicopter management, incident command and emergency medical response, in addition to visitor and resource protection.
He spent several years as a backcountry area ranger at Crater Lake National Park in Oregon before becoming a law enforcement ranger at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park in 2001.
Since 2001, Broward worked his way up the ranks as the park’s emergency operations and search-and-rescue coordinator and eruption crew supervisor. He also worked as the supervisory law enforcement ranger and has served intermittently as acting chief ranger.
“I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for the National Park Service volunteer program,” Broward said. “Volunteering is how I got my foot in the door, and that door opened up into a lifelong career.”
Broward says planning ahead and preparation are the most essential elements to a great visit to a national park.
As fire management officer, Williams oversees fire management operations for the Pacific Island Park network, which includes 12 national parks in Hawaii, Guam, Saipan and American Samoa.
Williams has 34 years of experience working in integrated aviation, and fire and fuels programs throughout the Pacific Northwest, Northern Rockies and Great Basin areas.
In his new position, Williams will coordinate fire management with partner agencies, including the Hawaii Fire Department, Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Forestry &Wildlife and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Williams hit the ground running since arriving in Hawaii this summer, mobilizing crew and resources to assist with the Kawaihae wildfire, which burned more than 4,650 acres in early August. He also directed fire crew and resources from Hawaii and American Samoa to assist with mainland fires, and recently led a weeklong training for fire recruits in American Samoa.
