Mike Gauthier, the former supervisory climbing ranger at Mount Rainier National Park, has been named chief of staff at Yosemite National Park.

Gauthier has spent the last 11 months in an acting assignment to the park from the Office of Legislative and Congressional Affairs in Washington, where he was a Bevinetto Fellow. As a Bevinetto Fellow, Gauthier worked for the assistant secretary for the fish, wildlife and Pparks and also for the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

Before going to Washington, Gauthier oversaw the climbing and search and rescue programs at Mount Rainier. He began his NPS career in 1985 at Olympic National Park as a backcountry ranger on the coast and along the way has also worked at Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska, said a Park Service news release.

An avid rock and mountain climber, published photographer and author of “Mount Rainier: A Climbing Guide,” Gauthier brings more than 25 years of commitment and passion, as well as relentless energy and resilience, to Yosemite and the National Park Service.