Guest guest Posted October 13, 2004 Report Share Posted October 13, 2004 http://www.bushgreenwatch.org/mt_archives/000204.php National Parks in Crisis Under Current Leadership, New Report Concludes October 13, 2004 Writer Wallace Stegner once called the National Parks " the best idea America ever had. " But under the current national administration, the parks are imperiled as never before. Late last month the Coalition of Concerned National Park Service Retirees -- a group that includes five former directors of the National Park Service and 95 former Park superintendents or assistant superintendents -- issued a report describing a national park system plagued by disrepair, deteriorating facilities, declining budgets, diminished staffing levels, and low morale. The specifics provided by the report are deeply disturbing. According to the report, NPS Director Fran Mainella, a political appointee, has reinterpreted the 1866 Mining Law that would re-open long abandoned trails and roads in National Parks. In Mojave National Preserve and Death Valley National Park (CA) alone, Mainella's action could open 3,000 miles of roads and alleged routes to old mining claims. Despite 10 years of studies and overwhelming public opposition, Interior Secretary Gale Norton bowed to pressure from snowmobile manufacturers and re-opened Yellowstone National Park to snowmobiles, endangering America's last wild buffalo herd. Likewise, rules against off-road vehicles have been loosened at Padre Island National Seashore (TX) and Assateague National Seashore (MD). At Cape Hatteras National Seashore (NC), the park superintendent has been ordered to reopen areas previously closed to protect nesting seabirds. The administration's rollback of clean air protections has had grave consequences for the parks, making the unhealthy air in many parks even worse. Because of a nearby coal-fired power plant, Great Smoky Mountains National Park (TN) had more ozone alerts last year than Atlanta. More than two dozen parks, including Shenandoah National Park (VA) and Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Park (CA) have degraded air quality and serious problems with haze. In the meantime, Secretary Norton has withdrawn the Interior Department's opposition to a new power plant near Yellowstone and reversed federal opposition to coal-fired plants outside the boundaries of Denali National Park in Alaska. In 2000, then-candidate George Bush told USA Today, " I will ensure that the federal government meets it responsibilities by devoting $5 billion to eliminate the backlog in maintenance and improvements at our national parks. " But under Norton, budgeting gimmicks are disguising severe shortages of funds and staff in the parks. In Everglades National Park (FL), of 210 permanent positions, 48 are vacant. At Gettysburg National Military Park (PA), requests by 25 percent of school groups are rejected for lack of funds. According to the report, many senior NPS leaders say that the political appointees running Interior do not seek their professional expertise and advice. When advice is offered, it is largely ignored. Veteran NPS career leaders have told the Coalition that to an unprecedented degree, field park leaders are being pressured to " toe the line " and to regurgitate political rhetoric provided in " talking points. " A culture of fear, they say, now rules the agency. Not surprisingly, a recent opinion survey found morale in the Park Service at a new low. Three-quarters of the park professionals surveyed found special interest influence over the Park Service has gotten worse under Norton. Nearly 90 percent are concerned that decisions are more influenced by politics than science or professional expertise. According to the report, frustration and pressure have caused an exodus of senior career NPS leaders. The feelings of many were summarized by one professional who wrote on the survey, " I have been in the NPS for 25 years. Sadly, over the past two years I have seen a once proud agency being driven into the ground by an administration that has contempt of our work, our ethic and our pride as Park Service staff. " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.