Rob Burrows

The Wilderness Stewardship Division (WSD) is excited to announce their newest team member, Rob Burrows, WSD wilderness training manager and NPS representative at the interagency Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center. Rob will join the WSD team in January 2024, duty-stationed in Missoula, MT. “Rob is an outstanding wilderness steward who brings an exceptional combination of wilderness planning, compliance and field operations experience, coupled with academic achievement,” said Roger Semler, NPS wilderness stewardship program manager. “Rob’s body of work and commitment to preserving wilderness character will translate into a strong wilderness training program with an emphasis on new and innovative ways to empower wilderness practitioners and managers across the National Wilderness Preservation System.”

Rob has worked in and for wilderness in various capacities for the last 26 years, first conducting research on past glaciers and then monitoring modern ones at North Cascades, Mount Rainier, and Denali National Parks. During those years of mountain adventure and exploration, Rob also worked as a wilderness climbing ranger, ski patroller, and wilderness-focused interpretive ranger.

From 2016 to 2023, Rob worked as an Environmental Protection Specialist at North Cascades National Park, planning, and helping the NPS meet statutory requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, the Wilderness Act (of course!), and other applicable laws, regulations, and policies.

A lifelong student of geography, he championed wilderness character mapping at Denali and North Cascades. He earned a B.S. in Environmental Geology and Technology from the University of North Dakota and a M.Sc. in Geology from Western Washington University. Rob also pursued Ph.D. work in Geography, studying snow and avalanche science at the University of British Columbia.