Page 42 - Southern Oregon Magazine Winter 2020

neck of the woods | prof ile

CRAIG

ACKERMAN

Superintendent, Crater
Lake National Park

steve boyarsky

e in Southern Oregon are blessed with many,
Wmany amazing people who share their talents
with all of us. To name and profile them all would fill
a book. We’ve chosen a few, and over the next several
issues will present some of these folks, some you may
not know. Perhaps, reading about them will inspire
you to reach out and offer your own talents, your
time and resources.

Q – HOW DOES CRATER LAKE NATIONAL
PARK CONTRIBUTE TO THE IDENTITY OF
SOUTHERN OREGON?
CRAIG – Crater Lake has been integral to Southern
Oregon for millennia, a big part of the history and
culture of the Klamath people. It has defined the
area geologically for hundreds of thousands of years.
Crater Lake represents Southern Oregon and to a
degree, the entire state of Oregon.

Q – ABOUT HOW MANY VISITORS DOES
THE PARK GET A YEAR?

CRAIG – Last year we had a little over 750,000
visitors. When I became Superintendent in 2008,
we were running about 450,000 visits. I wouldn’t be
surprised within five or six years to see us pushing
the one million-visitor mark. The park wasn’t built to
accommodate a million people a year, most of whom
come from the middle of June until the middle of
September.

40 www.southernoregonmagazine.com | winter 2020