Kappa Sigma
Alpha-Sigma | Ohio State University
Brother Sheridan Steele was born in Columbus, Ohio in 1946. As he and his three siblings grew up, his family very much enjoyed camping, particularly in the West. This would have a significant impact on his life work. He graduated from Whetstone High School in 1964, and enrolled in Ohio State in the fall of that year. He pledged Kappa Sigma that fall, was initiated in the fall of 1965, and was active in the fraternity for his four years of undergraduate study, serving as Grand Master of the Chapter in 1968. Sheridan’s brother, Geoff, preceded him as an Alpha Sigma initiate. Upon graduation, Sheridan enlisted in the Air National Guard, and after completion of his active-duty service, he returned to Ohio State to earn his Master of Science Degree with a major in Natural Resources in 1973. This degree was to lead him on a rewarding and distinquished 38-year career in the National Park Service.
After graduate school, Sheridan worked as a Recreation Planner with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and then as Executive Director of the Cuyahoga Valley Park Federation working alongside the National Park Service at Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area. This led to his first job with the National Park Service as Management Assistant at Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area Northeastern Ohio, from 1978-1982, where he focused on early planning efforts including land acquisition for the new unit of the National Park System.
He then went on to the Fort Scott National Historic Site in Kansas as Superintendent from 1982-1988. In his six years as the Superintendent of Fort Scott NHS, a relatively new unit of the NP System, he built a community of supporters (volunteers and donors) who helped develop wide-ranging and colorful programs to entice the public to come to Fort Scott. At the high point, the NHS had over 350 volunteers helping present public interpretive programs, the second largest volunteer program of any park in the Midwest Region. As part of this effort, he developed one of the first “gift catalogs” in the NPS which was very successful at raising over $100K in the small town of Fort Scott, population of about 9,000. The private funding purchased a reproduction mountain howitzer, replica rifles and sabers, reproduction Infantry and Dragoon uniforms, civilian dresses and clothing for non-military, and other equipment. The many donations added authenticity and excitement to the visitor experience was commonly called “living history” or costumed interpretation.
In 1989, Sheridan was selected for the prestigious Department of Interior’s Departmental Management Training Program. He moved the family to Washington, DC for one year which he divided equally between working as an assistant in the Director’s office and as an intern for the House Interior Committee, National Parks Subcommittee.
From 1989 to 1996, he served as Deputy Superintendent of Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. Notable visitors to the park during that time included Pope John Paul ll, and the Emperor and Empress of Japan. Sheridan was the principal architect of the plan to ban commercial tour overflights over Rocky which led to successful Congressional action to permanently ban those flights. As chief of operations, he worked closely with park rangers, maintenance, interpretation and administration to enhance teamwork and employee morale.
The nearby Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument and Curecanti Recreation Area was Sheridan’s next assignment, where he served as Superintendent from 1996-2003. After years of unsuccessful efforts by locals to make Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument a national park, Sheridan began his tenure there by developing a completely new approach for legislation. The new concepnt added the 2000-acre Sanburg Ranch a critical piece of private land on both sides of the South Rim Drive, the primary visitor use corridor. He also negotiated an agreement with the Bureau of Land Management to transfer 5000 acres downstream of the monument to become part of the national park. The new concept which better protected the essential resources and values resulted in successful Congressional Action to establish Black Canyon National Park in 1999. Sheridan was invited to attend the White House signing ceremony when President Clinton signed the legislation into law in the Oval Office.
In 2003, he received what was to be his final assignment as Superintendent of Acadia National Park on Mt. Desert Island in Maine. He would remain in that position for 12 years until retiring. During his tenure there, he hosted numerous dignitaries, including President Obama and the First Family, First Lady Laura Bush, numerous members of Congress, various Interior Department Secretaries, and Speaker of the House, John Boehner. Sheridan made land protection his highest priority. Over time he developed a vital partnership with Friends of Acadia, Maine Coast Heritage Trust and local philanthropist Roxanne Quimby resulting in the acquisition of 31 of 40 undeveloped parcels within the park boundary. He also spent a great deal of time working to make the former navy base at Schoodic into a successful science and education center. He established the non-profit Acadia Partners for Science and Learning and oversaw a $10M dollar renovation that turned the former base into a beautiful campus that began serving people of all ages as programs expanded.
Finally, he identified 3200 acres of land on the Schoodic Peninsula as the “most serious threat to Acadia NP” and began discussions with various conservation groups and potential partners looking for a way to conserve that critical land. Had it been privately developed into the planned 800 villas with roads and streetlights, three resorts and airstrip, the marvelous park experience on Schoodic would have been destroyed. Ultimately, he found a private benefactor who offered to buy the 3,200 acres from the family in Italy for $12M dollars to be gifted to Acadia. After purchase by the benefactor, the individual offered to build and donate facilities for the public to use the land. This grand gift included a 94-site campground and 8.4 miles of new bike trail to connect the park road into a very enjoyable loop. In addition, the project included 3.4 miles of new hiking trails, housing for employees, a small maintenance building, an attractive log information center and campground office. This extraordinary gift not only prevented a massive incompatible development, but it also added 1600 acres of land to Acadia and another 1600 acres were donated to Maine Coast Heritage Trust to be managed by Schoodic Institute as a research forest.
On his retirement, the President of Friends of Acadia, a volunteer support group for the park, offered a tribute which is applicable to all his years of service in the NPS:
“Sheridan’s leadership at Acadia over the past 12 years has brought a very rare combination of big, bold vision as well as focus and determination to get things done. He has been the best friend and partner an organization like ours could have – fully committed to the worthy goals of the Park Service, but also attuned to the importance of the surrounding communities to Acadia’s history and success. He will be missed, but his many contributions to Acadia will continue to grow and resonate for many years.”
In 2020, Sheridan documented his unique experiences in a memoir, entitled From Bear Dens to the Oval Office: True Stories from my 38 Years Managing National Parks. Sheridan and his wife Barb divide their time between homes in Highland Ranch, Colorado and Bar Harbor, ME. They have a son and daughter and two grand children, who also reside in Colorado.