NPS LEL John Hughes on the National Park Service LEL program

National LEL Program

Last December, the National Park Service announced the formation of a law enforcement liaison program, as part of a joint initiative with NHTSA. John Hughes was named the first NPS LEL. A 29-year veteran of the NPS and Chief Ranger of Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas, Hughes is building the program from the ground up. He and Dan Whitcomb, a U.S. Park Ranger with the Blue Ridge Parkway, sat down with us at this year’s Lifesavers Conference to discuss what led to the creation of a federal LEL position, the initial reception he has received from his peers in the LEL field, the challenges of building a LEL program among diverse entities and at a national scope, and how he’d like to see the program develop in the coming years.