The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) today announced that Steven Schmelzer is the department’s new Parks Director.
He started his new role on July 19th. Schmelzer’s 29 years with the DNR began in 1992, when he served as a Park Ranger at Devil’s Lake State Park.
In 1999, he was promoted to Devil’s Lake State Park Assistant Park Superintendent and then served as the park’s superintendent from 2008-2020.
In 2020, he was selected as a District Park Supervisor to lead the Southwest District covering eight counties and 18 different properties.
The DNR has logged more than 9.6 million visits to the 49 state parks so far this year – an 18% increase over last year and a 36% increase over 2019.
As more people connect with Wisconsin’s great outdoors more than ever, Schmelzer is up for the task.
