A veteran of the national park system with more than 20 years of experience will be the next superintendent of Vicksburg National Military Park.

R. Michael Madell will assume duties as head of the 110-year-old federal preserve Jan. 17. A Michigan native, Madell arrives from Vicksburg from Missouri National Recreational River site in Yankton, S.D.

“I am thrilled and honored to be selected as the next superintendent for Vicksburg National Military Park,” Madell, 50, said in a release from the National Park Service announcing the move.

“I know that park staff and the community already have done many good things to protect historic resources and to tell the stories of Vicksburg and the campaign and siege of 1863. I am anxious to work with staff and partners to build on these efforts and to work toward even loftier goals as part of the forthcoming Civil War sesquicentennial commemoration and in the years that follow.”

When Madell’s post becomes permanent, three will have served in an acting capacity since former superintendent Monika Mayr left in June after nearly five years in Vicksburg to become deputy superintendent of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Current acting superintendent Patricia Wissenger, who succeeded John Bundy, will serve through Dec. 12, then will be succeeded by VNMP’s chief of operations Rick Martin until Madell begins officially.

“He’s been around and he’ll be good,” Martin said Tuesday, touting the incoming superintendent’s experience.

A graduate of Western Michigan University in environmental studies and geography, with a master’s in recreation, parks and leisure studies from the University of Minnesota, Madell began his park service career as a ranger with Michigan state parks while still in college. His first superintendent post came in 2002 at Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site before landing his most recent leadership of “rec river.”

Madell arrived in Yankton in July 2008, as the park’s headquarters moved to Yankton from O’Neill, Neb. Madell was instrumental in relocating the headquarters and was active in community and regional partnership initiatives, the release said. His tenure in Little Rock coincided with the 50th anniversary of the school’s desegregation and opening of a new park visitor center and headquarters in 2007.

His federal career has also included NPS assignments as chief of planning and resources management and acting superintendent for the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area and chief of planning and compliance for the park service’s Omaha-based Midwest Region. In addition, he served with the U.S. Forest Service at Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area in Kentucky and Tennessee.

He and his wife, Trish, plan to relocate to Vicksburg in January, the release said.

Vicksburg’s most visited attraction and one of the nation’s oldest national parks has been the focus of renovation and recognition in the past year.

Following a privately funded effort to replace some of the park’s 1,400 tablets, busts and monuments, the park learned it was receiving $2 million in federal stimulus money to renovate the Shirley House near the Illinois Memorial. Work is expected to begin in 2010.   

In September, the park was selected to appear on a quarter to be produced by the U.S. Mint in 2011, the ninth in a series planned to pay homage to U.S. national parks and other preserved areas.

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Contact Danny Barrett Jr. at dbarrett@vicksburgpost.com