NPS Names Superintendent for 2 West Hawai‘i Historical Parks

John Broward. (PC: HVNP 2015)

The former Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park chief ranger has been selected to serve as the permanent superintendent of Kaloko-Honokōhau and Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Parks.

John Broward has been serving as the acting superintendent for both parks since May 2020.

“John brings 37 years of National Park Service experience to his new role,” said Acting NPS Regional Director Linda D. Walker. “This experience coupled with his passion to inspire younger generations make him a great fit for this position.”

Broward said he wouldn’t be where he is today if it weren’t for the opportunity he had to volunteer with the National Park Service as a college student.

“It is so important to engage youth and inspire them to learn about the natural environment,” Broward said. “This is one of my priorities for this new role.”

Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park encompasses 1,163 acres and was established for the preservation, interpretation, and perpetuation of traditional native Hawaiian activities and culture. The park demonstrates historic land use patterns and Hawaiian settlements as they were before the arrival of European explorers.

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Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park provides natural and cultural resources that Native Hawaiians define as heritage resources. It includes the Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau, royal grounds, 1871 Trail, temple platforms, royal fishponds, sledding tracks (hōlua), and historic Kiʻilae fishing village. The park protects one of the best preserved Pu‘uhonua in the Hawaiian Islands, a sacred place of refuge that exemplifies the important role of the kapu system in governing Hawaiian society.

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Broward began his career with the park service as a summer volunteer in 1983 at Biscayne National Park in Florida. He later worked as a seasonal employee at Crater Lake and Everglades national parks as well as Canaveral National Seashore. In 1994, he accepted his first permanent position as a backcountry area ranger at Crater Lake National Park. In 2001, he moved to Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park where he served as a field ranger, emergency services supervisor and eventually as chief ranger in 2015.