By Tom Markland, The Journal
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.
