Tim Cochrane, pushing off of the dock in the Montreal Canoe during seasonal training in 2012. Tim was out for a paddle on the Grand Portage Bay with 12 new employees and volunteers. Getting “right into the mix” with his staff was just how Tim did business each and every single day as superintendent.
Timothy (Tim) Cochrane is getting ready to retire from his position as superintendent of the Grand Portage National Monument on January 1, 2017. Over the last 20 years Mr. Cochrane has been witness to many changes at the park, not the least of which is a historic agreement signed between the Grand Portage Band of Minnesota Chippewa and the National Park Service, which calls for those two entities to work together.
The Cook County News-Herald caught up with Tim and he sat down to answer some questions. Below are his responses.
When did you start at Grand Portage National Monument? Was this your first job with the National Park Service? Where did you grow up and go to college?
I started at Grand Portage National Monument in June 1997. Headquarters was then in the Coast Guard Building in Grand Marais… My first job with the National Park Service was at Isle Royale as a back-country ranger in 1976. I went to three universities: I received a B.A. from the University of Montana, M.A. from Kentucky, and a Ph.D. from Indiana University in 1986.
How many people were on staff when you started and how many are there now?
We’ve grown a great deal at the national monument in my 20 years here. In the summer time we have approximately 35 folks working here (a combination of NPS employees, Grand Portage Band employees, and quite a number of volunteers). What has changed in these years is a few more folks, but the “make up” of the employees has really changed. For the last two years, more than 50 percent of our work force is made up of Grand Portage Band members or employees of the Grand Portage Band.
What have been the biggest events to happen? I know you were instrumental in working with the Grand Portage Band and the Park Service on an agreement for the two parties to work together. Has this worked well? Does this model exist anywhere else in the National Park System?
I have been fortunate to be part of a wonderful group of employees that have made quite a number of improvements here at the national monument. What is new: Heritage Center, a museum within the Heritage Center, a brand new maintenance facility, new seasonal house – which is rated LEED “Platinum” and built by the Grand Portage Band, new movie, new interpretive signs (more than 50 of them), and older facilities have been moved off sensitive resources. Perhaps one of our hallmarks is first class “interpretation.” My boss was visiting in August and he said that the living history offerings at Grand Portage were the best he has seen in the NPS. Pam Neil and Beth Drost lead our educational efforts with plenty of help from employees that thrive on talking with visitors about Ojibwe history, heritage, and the fur trade.
We operate Grand Portage National Monument with the Grand Portage Band through a Tribal Self Governance Act agreement. We are in our 18th successive year of Tribal Self Governance Act agreements. We have completed over 250 projects together. Of the 413 national park units across the U.S. we are the only one with an agreement that touches all aspects of park operations. We’ve done it longer than anyone else and done it well – we’ve completed 50 agreements together! It is a model of what might be done elsewhere to the degree that the Secretary of Interior, Sally Jewell recently recognized our combined work at Grand Portage as exemplary and as a model for other park units. As an example of it working well, since 2011, Isle Royale National Park has requested to be part of it.”
You have written at least one book about the history of the area. Have you written any others, and are you working on any books now?
Yes, I’ve published two books since we came to Cook County. The older one is: A Good Boat Speaks for Itself, published in 2002 by the University of Minnesota Press and is about small handmade wooden boats used on Isle Royale. And the second one is: Minong—The Good Place: Ojibwe and Isle Royale (published by Michigan State University Press in 2009). I have two more manuscripts in play, one of which I hope to sign a publishing agreement for in the next few months. I intend to have more time to write when I am retired.
How many historical items does the park have displayed or in its storage?
We have over 150,000 objects in our ‘artifact storage facility.’ Steve Veit is the master keeper of the objects— archeological objects are the common object. We have active archeological work ongoing, led by Bill Clayton, that yield new objects and more importantly new findings each year.
How has attendance been at the monument center? Does it grow every year?
No, attendance has fluctuated in my time. We had over 100,000 visitors one year and as low as 85,000 in others. Last year we had approximately 95,000 visitors.
You and Norman Deschampe have been “partners” of sorts for a long time. Do you have a good working relationship with Norman and the tribal council?
Yes, I’ve had the extremely good fortune of working with Norman Deschampe for 20 years. Norman and the tribal council members have been delightful to work with, even when we disagree. The stability, practicality, and thoughtfulness of Norman makes working with him a pleasure. Norman reads people as well as anybody I’ve ever worked with. Working collaboratively with other council members such as Gilbert Caribou, John Morrin, and Rob Hull and many others has also been rewarding and from our many conversations I’ve learned a great deal. Gilbert even trusted me enough to tell me traditional stories in the winter time—what an amazing privilege! I’ve also worked with quite a number of Band members who know how to get things done such as Melvin Gagnon, Bobby Deschampe, Jim Corcoran and members of the Band’s maintenance crew. Portage is a great place to work, learn, and get stuff accomplished together.
You raised three kids in Cook County. Has this been a good place for you and your wife to live?
Yes, we raised our three kids—now 28 years old—in Cook County. Our kids got wonderful opportunities at school and attention they would not have gotten in most places we could have lived. It was and is a remarkable place for kids to grow up. Jeannie has worked remotely from Cook County for years—which hasn’t always been easy. Thank you broadband; wish it had happened years ago! She has worked remotely for federal government agencies in Washington and most recently with a consortium of companies and agencies on biological issues associated with wind power generation. We are retiring together!
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