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Longtime State Parks And Cultural Resources Director Milward Simpson To Step Down

Wyoming State Parks and Cultural Resources

After 10 years, Milward Simpson is leaving his post as Director of the Wyoming Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources. Simpson was appointed to the position in July of 2006 by former Governor Dave Freudenthal.

During his time in office, Simpson established a new electronic records management system for the state archives, created programs to get families in the outdoors, and coordinated state and federal land management agencies.

Simpson said he is particularly proud of putting on statewide conferences for things like the arts, culture, and historic preservation.

“In Wyoming it’s so important to have an opportunity to convene all of the practitioners and people who are passionate about these things together. We’re so spread out and have such distances to travel [that] isolation can be a problem,” he said.

After leaving the Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources, Simpson will become the next Director of the Wyoming Chapter of The Nature Conservancy.

“It’s a natural kind of transition for me. I’ve had two great passions in my life,” he said. “One of them is the arts and the other is our natural resources.”

Simpson said it was his plan to leave at the end of Governor Mead’s second term, but the timing of this job opportunity meant he would leave slightly earlier than expected.

“You know I’ve been extraordinarily blessed to serve for an unusually long time for a member, appointee at a cabinet level position, and there’s some other things I want to do while I’ve got some gas left in the tank, so to speak,” said Simpson.

Simpson will step down August 24.

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