HALEAKALA NATIONAL PARK — Haleakala National Park Superintendent Marilyn Parris will retire Jan. 30 after 34 years with the National Park Service.

Parris came to the Maui park in 2005 and was involved in major planning efforts and issues that included commercial services inside the park, bicycle tour safety, air tour management and the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope.

She also was influential in helping Haleakala National Park acquire land in Nu'u.

The 4,000-acre tract includes resources stretching from sea level to above 10,000 feet in elevation. Park officials said the new section of preserved land will allow the overgrazed and eroded landscape to return to a native ecosystem and contribute to the quality of community watersheds. The acquisition also will allow for preservation of cultural and archaeological sites.

Parris began her career with the National Park Service in 1975 as a seasonal park ranger at Kings Mountain National Military Park in South Carolina at a time when few women were in the field. She spent 22 years as a park superintendent.

Previous postings included Lassen Volcanic National Park in Northern California, Fort Necessity National Battlefield and Friendship Hill National Historic Site in Western Pennsylvania, and Buck Island Reef National Monument and Christiansted National Historic Site in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.

Parris said she will be moving to South Carolina, where she plans to play golf, spend more time with her family and visit national parks.