Former head of park service

Russell Dickenson, 84, who worked for the National Park Service for nearly 40 years and served as the agency’s head during two administrations, died Feb. 19 of cancer at his home in Bellevue, Wash.

He was named head of the service in 1980 during the Carter administration. He replaced William J. Whalen, who was fired by Interior Secretary Cecil Andrus after a stormy three years during which Whalen came under fire from conservation groups and park service employees complained of low morale.

Dickenson stayed on as head of the service during President Reagan’s first term and was credited with obtaining the support of Congress for the Park Restoration and Improvement Program, which devoted more than a billion dollars over five years to park resources and facilities. He was also credited with fending off development plans by Interior Secretary James G. Watt.

But, according to the Washington Post, Dickenson was “eased out” by Watt’s successor, William P. Clark, who was known to be concerned about Dickenson’s practice of traveling extensively around the national parks, sometimes vacating his Washington desk for almost month.

However, Clark arranged for Dickenson to serve on the national parks advisory board so he could qualify for maximum retirement benefits.

Born in Melissa, Texas, Dickenson graduated from Northern Arizona University after serving in the Marine Corps during World War II.

He began his park service career as a ranger at Grand Canyon National Park in 1946. He worked at several other parks, including Big Bend, Glacier and Grand Teton.

In 1973, he was named deputy director of the service and in that post was head of the service’s Pacific Northwest Region, which then included Alaska, Washington, Oregon and Idaho.

He was coauthor of “National Park Service: The Story Behind the Scenery.”

After retiring from the park service, he taught at the University of Washington.