Parks Chief Nominated

President Clinton has nominated Robert Stanton, a 35-year veteran of the National Park Service, to become the agency's director. The 56-year-old nominee retired from the service in 1/97 after serving as regional director in the Washington, D.C., area for eight years, according to The Washington Post.

The National Parks and Conservation Assn., a park advocacy organization, praised Stanton's nomination and urged the Senate to "swiftly confirm" him.

If confirmed by the Senate "as expected," Stanton would be the first African-American to head the National Park Service in its 80-year history, The Washington Times reported.