CLOSING – The Stephen T. Mather Training Center, which sits on the grounds of what was once Storer College’s campus, is set to close its training programs. -- Tom Markland

HARPERS FERRY — The National Park Service is closing its training programs at the Stephen T. Mather Training Center in Harpers Ferry, ending more than six decades of in-person training for new rangers and cultural-resource specialists.

It joins the Horace P. Albright Training Center in Grand Canyon National Park, both of which are being “consolidated,” according to officials from the Department of the Interior.

The Stephen T. Mather Training Center, located on what was once the Storer College campus above Harpers Ferry, opened in 1964 to teach interpretive science, administrative skills and cultural resource management. For decades, both the Mather and Albright centers served as in-park classrooms, where up to 700 new employees annually could receive classroom instruction and hands-on training in park settings.

The Mather Training Center campus is composed of two main structures. Wirth Hall, formerly Anthony Hall, is named for former National Park Service Director Conrad Wirth and houses the classrooms and administrative offices. Storer’s Cook Hall Dormitory is shared by Mather and the Interpretive Design Center, located on the site of the Storer College cafeteria and dormitory. The Anthony Library, formerly the Storer College library, houses reference materials for students and researchers.

The courses offered at the Stephen T. Mather Training Center are open to employees of the National Park Service and occasionally outside participants.

Both centers have been operated by the NPS Learning and Development Office and have functioned as “centers of excellence,” where subject-matter experts not only deliver training but also continuously refine and update course content.

According to Alyse Sharpe, a senior public affairs specialist with the Department of the Interior, the decision reflects a “shift in how the NPS manages training and workforce development,” rather than a judgment on the value of the programs.

As of now, the Department of the Interior has not announced a replacement facility or a clear plan for future in-person training. While virtual instruction and regional centers may fill some of the gaps, critics worry the agency is losing something intangible — the shared culture and mentorship that in-park training provided.

“I still have fond memories of when I went to Mather in the early 2000s,” said one online commenter. “Was there for one of the first Fundamentals classes and a later 6-week fundamentals of natural resources management training. It’s a sad day indeed for our future and current rangers to lose this opportunity to visit these training centers. I’m hoping this is not the end and this won’t happen, or that it can come back one day. We shall see.”

The decision to close the training centers came from Interior Department leadership in Washington, D.C., where Secretary Doug Burgum has emphasized streamlining operations and advancing energy development goals, placing less focus on traditional in-person training programs.