Bill Stanley has been named lead superintendent at Kerr Lake State Recreation Area in Vance and Warren counties, according to the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation. He has served as a superintendent I at Kerr Lake since 2018.
A state park superintendent manages the operations and administration of a park and has responsibilities that include staffing, planning, environmental education, natural resources management, law enforcement and visitor services.
Originally from Ramseur, N.C., Stanley has a bachelor’s degree in environmental science from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.
Stanley’s years at Kerr Lake have inspired a number of goals for his first year as superintendent.
“I want to improve community engagement and complete projects that improve visitor experiences at the park,” he said. “I want Kerr Lake to embody our mission of conservation, recreation and education.”
Stanley began his career in state parks in 2010 as a seasonal employee at Raven Rock in Harnett County and then worked as an AmeriCorps educator at Carvers Creek in Cumberland County. He took a park ranger position at Dismal Swamp State Park in Camden County before moving to Kerr Lake State Recreation Area.
North District Superintendent Kristen Woodruff said she looks forward to Stanley’s leadership to direct the park through growth and change.
“Bill’s familiarity with both the challenges and opportunities at Kerr Lake provide a foundation for excellent leadership as the park continues to grow and change. He is setting a new standard for the visitor experience at Kerr Lake,” she said.
Kerr Lake State Recreation Area is a collective of eight access areas around the shoreline of the 50,000-acre reservoir built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Seven campgrounds with hundreds of campsites allow visitors lakeside camping, and numerous shelters and community buildings provide popular venues for local gatherings.
All eight recreation accesses provide boat access to one of the best fishing lakes in the eastern United States.
North Carolina State Parks manages more than 258,000 acres of iconic landscape within North Carolina’s state parks, state recreation areas and state natural areas. It administers the N.C Parks and Recreation Trust Fund, including its local grants program, as well as a state trails program, North Carolina Natural and Scenic Rivers and more, all with a mission dedicated to conservation, recreation and education. The state parks system welcomes more than 22.7 million visitors annually.