KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Cassius Cash, superintendent of Great Smoky Mountains National Park for nearly a decade, said he is stepping down from his position.
The Memphis native will become president and CEO of the Yosemite Conservancy, leading projects that boost and protect Yosemite National Park in California.
The first Black person to oversee the Smokies park, Cash took over in February 2015. His tenure included strong annual visitor growth, a parking fee plan and the devastating 2016 wildfire that started in the park and swept into Gatlinburg and surrounding communities, killing 14 people.
Cash's prior time with the National Park Service included about four years at the Boston National Historical Park and Boston African American National Historic Site.
Cash was among the longest-serving Smokies superintendents over the past 30 years. The Smokies, which spans part of western North Carolina and East Tennessee, annually draws 12 million to 13 million visitors, easily making it the most visited park in the national system.
Dana Soehn is president and CEO of Friends of the Smokies, which looks after the Smokies. She worked with Cash as a park spokesman before moving to Friends of the Smokies.
"Superintendent Cash has been a true Friend of the Smokies during his decade of service," she said in a statement to WBIR. " He championed the ‘Forever Places’ legacy program to ensure the preservation of the most special and historic places in the park. He led efforts to make the park a more welcoming and inclusive experience for people of all abilities. I am honored to have served alongside him and wish him well in his new role.”
Cash started with the U.S. Forest Service in 1991 as a wildlife biologist at the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in Washington state. He worked in the Forest Service for 18 years before transferring to NPS.
While with the Forest Service, his stints included time as a district ranger in Georgia and a civil rights officer in Mississippi. He was deputy forest supervisor at the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest in southern Oregon before transferring to Boston, according to the NPS.
Cash and his wife, Vonda, have two daughters.
Yosemite Conservancy Board Chair Steve Ciesinski said in a statement Thursday that Cash has "a deep understanding of what’s happening on the frontlines of our national parks.
"From the moment we met Cassius we were impressed. And the more we talked, the more confident we felt in his ability to lead Yosemite Conservancy in a second century of service to — and partnership with — in Yosemite National Park," his statement reads.
In 2022, the National Parks Conservation Association awarded him with its Stephen Tyng Mather Award.
The award recognizes federal employees who risk their careers for the principles and practices of good stewardship of the national parks, according to NPCA.
In citing him, NPCA noted that after several high-profile 2020 incidents of violence against Black Americans including George Floyd, Cash created the Smokies Hike for Healing program, which brought people from a variety of backgrounds together to take part in hikes and honest conversations about racism and discrimination in the U.S.
This story will be updated when more information about Cash's career plans is available.