NPS selects Waco Mammoth National Monument site manager

JOHNSON CITY / WACO, Texas ( FOX 44 ) – The National Park Service (NPS) has selected Theresa Moore as the first permanent site manager of the Waco Mammoth National Monument.

The NPS says Moore will begin her new assignment on November 17. The position reports directly to the Superintendent of Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park.

Moore has worked for the National Park Service for eleven years, most recently as the Visitor Services Manager of Interpretation, Education, Volunteers, and Fees at Guadalupe Mountains National Park.  At Waco Mammoth, Moore will be responsible for managing the daily operations and staff of the monument.

The NPS says the Waco Mammoth National Monument was designated a national monument in 2015 by President Barack Obama, and is the nation’s first and only recorded evidence of a nursery herd of ice-age Columbian mammoths. Columbian mammoths are the largest mammoth species – larger than its relative, the woolly mammoth – and stand twelve to 14 feet tall and weigh ten to eleven tons. Their tusks grew as long as 16 feet.

Since the site’s discovery in 1978, paleontologists have found the remains of 24 Columbian mammoths, including both adults and juveniles, as well as a Western camel, saber-toothed cat, dwarf antelope, American alligator, and giant tortoise. Many of the discovered bones, including the remains of at least four Columbian mammoths as well as the skeleton of the camel, remain in place, providing visitors an opportunity to view them.

During her NPS career, Moore has served in a variety of positions including Revenue & Fee Program Manager at Mount Rainier, Science Communication Specialist for the Northeast Temperate Inventory & Monitoring Network, and Ranger positions at Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park and Zion National Park.

The NPS says Moore grew up in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, where her parents still live. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in American History from Texas A&M University and holds a Master’s Degree in American History and Native American Issues from the University of Oklahoma.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ConchoValleyHomepage.com.