STERLING—Palisade State Park has welcomed a new park manager, Bevan Monroe, former park manager at Escalante Petrified Forest State Park and former assistant manager at Palisade.
Bevan Monroe, who was a former assistant manager of Palisade State Park, has returned as manager.
Monroe began working for the Utah State Parks Division in 2005 as a ranger at Yuba State Park. He worked there for four years before transferring to Fremont Indian State Park, where he worked as te assistant manager for about a year.
Monroe then came to Palisade, where was the assistant park manager for 11 years. His career then took him to the Escalante Petrified Forest State Park, where he was park manager for a year and a half.
When the park manager position came up Palisade, he immediately applied. He took over the position in January. He and his family now live in Gunnison.
“I really like it here, my kids like the schools here. It feels like home,” he says.
A park manager’s responsibilities include everything from overseeing the park budget to ensuring that the park’s operations run smoothly. At Palisade, the operations include the golf course, campgrounds and day-use activities.
Additionally, Monroe oversees the hiring of seasonal and full-time employees, and delegation of responsibilities to employees. Palisade has six full-time and about 25 seasonal employees.
The Palisade Park staff even oversees recreational activities outside the park, including boating on Nine Mile Reservoir and ATV operations between the park property and Gunnison. The park has a contract with the U.S. Forest Service to keep some trails groomed outside of the park.
