Great Smoky Mountains National Park chief ranger to retire

GATLINBURG, Tenn. – The chief ranger at Great Smoky Mountains National Park is retiring after 35 years of federal service.

A park news release says Chief Ranger Steve Kloster has worked in the Smokies since 1988.

Kloster began his career with the National Park Service as a park technician at Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site in Gallitzin, Pennsylvania. He became chief ranger at Great Smoky Mountains National Park in May 2015.

Kloster has won numerous awards throughout his career, including the Department of the Interior’s Exemplary Act Award and the Georgia Medal for Valor in 1992 for the rescue of a pilot involved in a mid-air collision.

Kloster is an upstate New York native who earned a Bachelor’s degree in recreation education from State University of New York College at Cortland.