Brinnen Carter brings 28 years of National Park Service experience to western New Mexico
GRANTS, N.M. — El Malpais and El Morro national monuments will soon have new leadership, with the National Park Service announcing Friday that Brinnen Carter has been selected as superintendent of the two western New Mexico monuments.
Carter will begin the position Oct. 4, overseeing two of the region's best-known National Park Service sites and bringing 28 years of experience with the agency.
He most recently served as integrated resource manager for Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and Curecanti National Recreation Area in Colorado, where his responsibilities included resource stewardship, planning, permitting and community relations.
Carter also brings extensive experience working with cultural resources and tribal communities. Before his work in Colorado, Carter served as cultural resources manager at Shenandoah National Park, where he oversaw compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act and tribal relations.
Earlier in his career, Carter worked at Sitka National Historical Park in Alaska as integrated resource, planning and compliance manager, collaborating with Southeast Alaska tribes. He began his National Park Service career as a museum specialist and archaeologist at the Southeast Archeological Center in Tallahassee, Florida.
Carter holds a doctorate in anthropology, specializing in archaeology, from the University of Florida.
"I'm honored to serve at one of the country's oldest national monuments and one of its most unique," Carter said. "El Morro and El Malpais are places where history, geology, and culture come together in extraordinary ways, and I look forward to working with staff, partners, and the community to protect these landscapes and share their stories."
El Malpais National Monument encompasses a vast volcanic landscape south of Grants, including lava flows, caves, sandstone formations and cultural resources reflecting thousands of years of human history.
El Morro National Monument, located southwest of Grants near Ramah, preserves a sandstone promontory whose pool provided an important water source for centuries. The monument contains ancestral Puebloan sites as well as inscriptions left by Spanish travelers and later American emigrants.
Intermountain Region Director Bert Frost said Carter's background in resource stewardship and collaboration will benefit both monuments.
"His ability to build partnerships and support community engagement will help ensure El Morro and El Malpais continue to thrive for future generations," Frost said.
Carter's appointment places him at the head of two National Park Service units closely connected to Cibola County's history, tourism economy and neighboring tribal and rural communities.
The National Park Service announced the appointment Aug. 28.