Wind Cave Superintendent Vidal Dávila to Retire

 WIND CAVE NATIONAL PARK, S.D. – After almost 45 years of service with the National Park Service, Vidal Dávila, Superintendent at Wind Cave National Park, will retire on December 31.  Vidal has been the superintendent at the park since October 1, 2007. 

A native of Pearsall, Texas, Davila graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Recreation and Parks Administration.  He started working as a summer seasonal for the National Park Service at Amistad Recreation Area for four summers before becoming a permanent employee.

Davila served in many national park units including Amistad Recreation Area (TX), Big Bend National Park (TX), the Southwest Regional Office (NM), Guadalupe Mountains National Park (TX), Great Basin National Park (NV), and Wind Cave National Park.

“I grew up in national parks, having started working at age 22 as a seasonal and continuing on as a permanent employee for the last 45 years,” said Park Superintendent Vidal Dávila. “In between the four summer seasonal jobs, I taught life and earth science at the junior high school in Pearsall, Texas, where I was born and raised.”

Davila states he has been fortunate to have such a great career working and living in national park units where he saw beautiful sunsets and worked alongside amazing people that shared the same vision of protecting and preserving national park units.  Early on in his career, Davila worked as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), wildland and structural fire fighter and was a member of the technical rock climbing rescue team at Big Bend National Park.

One of his early accomplishments was working in the interpretive division at Big Bend National Park and being selected to the second Natural Resource Training Program, where he traveled to major universities throughout the country and received the latest and best information on how to manage natural resources.  After the training program, his career has been in the management of natural resources starting as the first resource management specialist at Guadalupe Mountains National Park.

Davila has had a great career seeing some of nature’s best wildlife up close and personal working alongside researchers studying peregrine falcons, black bears, mountain lions, and black-footed ferrets.

“One of my favorite places to work has been Wind Cave National Park.  The resources here are amazing. With a significant underground cave and vast natural and cultural resources above ground, we have two parks in one,” said Dávila. “The staff here has been great to work with.  They are very dedicated government employees who go out of their way to serve the public.  My career has been amazing and I feel very fortunate to have spent time here in the Black Hills of South Dakota.”

In 2010, Vidal was awarded the Superintendent of the Year for Natural Resources by the Midwest Regional Director for his work in managing natural resources at Wind Cave National Park. Since  2013, Davila has been a member of the NPS Midwest Regional Office Bison Leadership Team (BLT) to encourage collaborative decision-making among bison parks and to facilitate coordination with other NPS regions and with NPS national leadership.

Davila’s biggest accomplishment at Wind Cave was working toward acquiring the former Casey property, a 5,556 section of land adjoining the park in 2011. 

A retirement dinner will be held Saturday evening, January 4, at the Red Rock River Resort in Hot Springs. Reservations can be made by calling (605) 745-4600.

Photo Caption: Wind Cave National Park Superintendent Vidal Dávila is retiring at the end of the year.  (NPS Photo) 

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Dear Friends and Supporters,

Thank you for your keen interest in Wind Cave National Park, a small and oft-time overlooked treasure of this Nation’s National Park system.   Please check out our Membership page. 

Friends of Wind Cave National Park, authorized as a 501-c-3 charitable non-profit organization, can legally function as the conduit for public support of the important and exciting experience at Wind Cave National Park. We ask for your support and remind you that your donation is tax deductible and serves as a gift for future generations to come! The Friends of Wind Cave greatly assists the Park, since the Park can't spend money outside of its boundaries. We can also accomplish some other needed tasks and goals much more efficiently than the Park, because we aren't bound by some of the federal regulations and red tape.

The Park grew considerably in 2011,when it acquired 5556 acres in the Casey Ranch addition. The addition includes the historic Sanson Ranch, and a 4000 year old buffalo jump. Work in preparation for opening the historic ranch and buffalo jump to the public is currently underway in the park. The critical components are to secure the historic buildings on the site and to make sufficient improvements to assure public safety. Those monies have been designated through certain park channels and this initial work has begun. An access road to the addition was necessary before any of this work could be done.

Since the Park can't spend outside of the Park boundaries, the Friends of Wind Cave raised funds to build a one mile gravel road, nearly completed in 2019. This creates access to the Casey Ranch addition, a necessary improvement from the previous crude two-track dirt trail. The Friends raised nearly $66,000 from its members and others, to accomplish the building of this road. The National Guard was a key factor in the building of the road, or we likely wouldn't have been able to afford this construction project at this time. We still have some work to do the the one mile of road, and we have a commitment for annual maintenance of this road, so Friends members and donors remain essential.

We are planning a celebration to thank all the Friends members and other donors when the additional work inside the Park is completed in the spring of 2020. The significant donors of $1000 and over in this key road project will be recognized into the future on a plaque to be located at the Sanson Ranch.

Again, we thank our members and friends for their support in helping make the vision of opening the Sanson Ranch and buffalo jump for the public a reality. Wind Cave National Park is basically two parks in one, the above ground treasures, as well as the cave itself.

Greatfully,
     Friends of Wind Cave National Park

    Friends groups exist across the United States as citizen based advocates for individual national parks. Friends groups are contractual partnerships enabling effective stewardship of these parks.  National Park budgets are established by the US government and typically cover only basic operating expenses.   Friends groups can provide community based fundraising for various projects to enhance the local park's interpretative programs or to maintain or install new infrastructure ranging from trails to buildings. Friends groups can receive and administer your ear-marked donation for specific projects.

    Friends of Wind Cave National Park values your participation, your enthusiasm and generous financial support in helping Wind Cave National Park be one of the true jewels of the National Park system and our national heritage. Please review the other tabs to learn more.