James_M._Ridenour

James Michael Ridenour (born January 1, 1942) was the director of the National Park Service. He served as director of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources for eight years before becoming NPS director in April 1989. Director Ridenour was not willing to accept additions to the system simply for local economic development. He spoke out against the "thinning of the blood" of the system and sought to retain the initiative from Congress in charting its expansion. He favored alternatives to full federal acquisition of proposed parklands, stressed the importance of working with other government bodies and private entities to protect lands in and outside the system, and sought to achieve a greater financial return to the NPS from park concessions. He departed with the Bush administration in January 1993.James Ridenour of West Lafayette was a Vietnam War veteran; he served in the U.S. Army (1966–1969) as commander of a medical company in Denver, Colo., as commander of a medical detachment in Vietnam; and in Valley Forge, Pa. General Hospital, as chief of the Welfare and Recreation Branch.