Park Ranger Mosie Welch to Retire

Park Ranger Mosie Welch will retire on January 30 after 23 years of service for the National Park Service.

Mosie started her career with NPS in 1984, as a volunteer on the Blue Ridge Parkway, performing and playing mountain music at campfire programs in the Roanoke Valley District. The following year she became a Cooperative Education appointee. During her stint on the Blue Ridge, Mosie started the popular Sunday evening, old-time music programs at Roanoke Mountain Campground; developed successful first-person interpretive programs; conducted natural resources management studies; and performed law enforcement and emergency response. She was also the liaison between the National Council for Traditional Arts and the Blue Ridge Parkway, for the Blue Ridge’s 50^th Anniversary Celebration in 1985.

In 1989, Mosie became a protection ranger at Lincoln Home National Historic Site, Illinois, where she took an active role in developing the park’s protection program and was a member of the Midwest Region Special Events Team.

Mosie transferred to Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio, as the North District Ranger, in 1993. Her tenure at Cuyahoga Valley included long-term, acting assignments as the Law Enforcement Specialist and the Senior Law Enforcement Ranger. She became the Field Operations Supervisor in 2003, and was a key person in the reorganization of the Visitor and Resource Protection program. In 2008, Mosie spent five months at Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in St. Louis, Missouri, as Acting Chief Ranger. 

Mosie has an enduring interest collaborating with other agencies and the local community. She routinely works with them to conduct effective investigations, coordinate training, and ensure mutual aid. In 2001, the Director of the FBI honored Mosie with an award in recognition of her support and cooperation on interagency investigations. Mosie is also very proud to have developed active and diverse volunteer programs in support of visitor and resource protection, including the Trailblazer Hike, Bike, and Horse Patrol and the Tract Trekker Boundary and Resource Inventory group.

Other NPS sites and outside agencies have emulated these programs.

Mosie and her husband, Denis, will remain in Ohio where Mosie will pursue all things equestrian, spend more time with daughter, Corey, as well as volunteer in the park and community. There will be a celebration of Mosie’s career on Monday evening, February 2, at Happy Days Lodge, Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Contact Lead Park Ranger Lois Neff at (330) 657-2793 ext. 307, or Lead Park Ranger Rose Akins at (330) 657-2793 ext. 306 for details, or send any stories, photos, or memories to lois_neff@nps.gov. You can contact Mosie at mosie_welch@hotmail.com.