| Retired National Park Service Leaders Denied White
House Visit, Urge President to "Halt" Anti-Conservation Moves
at Interior - Letter to President Pleads for Codification of
Conservation-Oriented Policies Now at Risk; Recent Developments at
Yellowstone, Grand Teton and Black Canyon Cited as Problems.
(Note: It is obvious that these 183 NPS retirees are also of The Wildlands Project persuasion, as they are alarmed about snowmobiles in Yellowstone and make it clear that "...protection and preservation of ... resources..." are what the NPS is all about, not the welcome to and enjoyment by many visitors and recreationists. "The sky is falling" mantra never mentions that roads continue to be closed and removed in federal lands and that increasingly, the only way to 'visit' National Parks is by bus.) January 22, 2004 Contacts: Stephanie Kendall, 703-276-3254 or skendall@hastingsgroup.com; Bill Wade, 520-615-9417 or sarpig@att.net; and Rick Smith, 505-867-0047 or rsmith0921@aol.com Washington, D.C. - The White House has declined to meet with representatives of 183 concerned National Park Service (NPS) retirees who today sent President George Bush a letter expressing grave concerns that "actions are being taken in the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service that are short-changing, ignoring or violating the long-standing legislation and policies comprising the mission of the National Park Service." In particular, the retirees highlighted recent troubling developments at Yellowstone, Grand Teton and Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Parks as examples of the Department of the Interior abandoning its core mission of conservation. The letter signers are members of the Coalition of Concerned National Park Services Retirees. The signers of the letter represent over 6000 years of NPS experience and include one former director, two former deputy directors, eight former regional directors and 62 former park superintendents. The NPS retirees writing to President Bush served under both Republican and Democratic administrations. The unusual letter urges President Bush to halt efforts at the Interior Department, which oversees the NPS, to strip out its "conservation" mandate and, instead, to codify existing rules that already should make that mandate a top responsibility for the Department. The Coalition letter reads: "President Bush, now is the time for you step up to the commitments of stewardship you have made and to which your Party has historically embraced: ensuring that the natural beauty and cultural legacies treasured by all Americans are protected and preserved for generations to come." The letter signers make the following specific requests of President Bush: "We ask you to direct your Secretary of the Interior to follow the intent of the National Park Service Organic Act of 1916 and its amendments. We ask you to direct the Secretary to make sure that the efforts underway to alter the National Park Service Management Policies of 2001 are brought to an immediate halt, and to embed the existing policies in permanent regulation -- to give them the force of law -- so that from this time forward the National Park Service is clearly and undeniably committed, first and foremost, to protection and preservation of its resources." The letter notes that earlier Republican presidents, including Lincoln, Grant, Roosevelt and Nixon, were leaders on conservation and knew that such a focus "has no political boundaries. Proper stewardship of our national parks has always been a bipartisan effort -- and a presidential legacy." The letter stresses that the NPS retirees' fears about a declining emphasis on conservation at Interior are not of a simply theoretical nature. "NPS Director Fran Mainella, evidently with the approval of Department of the Interior Secretary Gale Norton, is ignoring the National Park Service's Management Policies regarding impairment of resources. Moreover, Director Mainella and Secretary Norton are, in fact, compromising the absolute duty, specified by the Senate, to safeguard the units of the national park system and are failing to carry out the long-standing, time-proven mission of the National Park Service. The most recent case in point involves DOI/NPS attempts to allow continued snowmobile use in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks." The retirees also point to recent developments in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park near Montrose, CO. "In yet another example where sound science was ignored and public involvement was circumvented, in April the Department of the Interior and the Colorado Department of Natural Resources announced plans to substantially revise the federal government's claim to water rights in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. Once again, this appears to be a derogation of the Department's responsibilities, under the NPS Organic Act, to protect the park and the river that is its heart. This park was established to protect Black Canyon's spectacular gorges and additional features of scenic, scientific and educational interest. Scientific analysis shows that preserving these features of the park requires preserving the natural flow patterns of the river, yet the Department seems intent on giving up these flows. We believe this is another impairment of resources in violation of the NPS Management Policies and the Organic Act and its amendments." The retirees applaud President Bush for his public support for national parks and lands, but urge him to make sure that the Department of the Interior follows his stated views. The letter states: "…the examples of actions by the Secretary of the Interior and the Director of the National Park Service that we have cited seem to be inconsistent with your National Parks Legacy Project, about which you said, on April 22, 2002, 'through thoughtful and diligent efforts, the National Parks Legacy Project will enhance the National Parks' ecosystems….' Unfortunately, your messages seem not to have filtered down to the leaders at the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service, who, against the will of the American public, continue to ignore the primary mission of the NPS and to manage our national parks as if they were arbitrary parcels of public land available to be exploited for any purposes favored by corporate interests." For the full text of the letter from members of the Coalition of Concerned National Park Service Retirees, go to http://www.protectamericaslands.org on the Web. Source: Campaign to Protect America's Lands Environmental Media Services |