Reprinted with permission from The Pilot-Independent
PARK RAPIDS — The Headwaters Center for Lifelong Learning presents Eric Haugland’s “Eight First Weeks in a 33-Year Career in the National Park Service,” Tuesday from 1 to 2:30 p.m. at Armory Arts and Events Center.
A Park Rapids native who graduated in 1982 from Concordia College in Moorhead with a degree in Environmental Studies, Haugland began his career with a National Park Service internship at Glacier National Park. He stayed with the Park Service for 33 years, working as a park ranger in eight parks throughout the country. His assignments included work in resource management, protection, interpretation, and administration.
Haugland returned to Park Rapids after his 2014 retirement and currently serves as chairperson for the Itasca-Heartland Connection Trail.
“I remember going to a county commissioner board meeting in U.S. Government class as a junior in high school and they were talking about building a bike trail to Itasca. We now have DNR preliminary engineering plan for the proposed route, which has allowed us to seek state bonding for the trail in three phases,” he said.
The HCLL program will feature an update on the building of the multi-use Itasca-Heartland Connection Trail, and will detail his responsibilities and unique memories from his career with the National Park Service. The program is open to the public, free of charge, and handicap accessible.
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