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Cook takes the lead at Pokegama Dam

Published April 30, 2015
Jeff Cook, is the operations manager for the Pokegama Dam and Winnibigoshish Lake recreation areas.

Jeff Cook, is the operations manager for the Pokegama Dam and Winnibigoshish Lake recreation areas.

Jeff Cook, Pokegama Dam Recreation Area manager, is excited to bring his passion to for the outdoors to the Mississippi River Headwaters project.

Jeff Cook, Pokegama Dam Recreation Area manager, is excited to bring his passion to for the outdoors to the Mississippi River Headwaters project.

Jeff Cook said he always knew he wanted to be a park ranger.

From his early childhood growing up in Eagan, Minnesota, Cook encountered park rangers at the Autobahn Center in Sandstone, Minnesota, giving a presentation about the outdoors for kids. From that point on, he knew he wanted to do what park rangers do – interact with the public, teach them about being good stewards of the environment and be involved in all the activities that Minnesota has to offer.

Cook graduated from the University of Minnesota, Crookston, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in natural resource management. He got his start in the Corps as a seasonal hire, working at the district’s recreation area in Crosslake, Minnesota, for two seasons and then one season in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, working at the district’s Pokegama Dam Recreation Site. With this experience, Cook gained a full time position with the Corps in Yankton, South Dakota.

While there, he honed his skills in interacting with the public, stressing safety on the water and managing an abnormal flood season during the 2011 Missouri River floods. Cook described his flood fight in Yankton by stating “We had fast run off of mountain snow and more rain in four to five weeks than we get all year.” These were the conditions that greeted Cook in Yankton and allowed him to gain invaluable experience with the Corps.

Now, as the operations manager at Pokegama since June of this last year, Cook is eager to bring his passion for the outdoors and recreation to the campground nestled just outside of Grand Rapids.