National park overhaul

Opinion: Arizona Daily Star

9/29/04

A group of retired National Park Service employees has been trying for several years to shed some light on specific problems related to the operation of the nation's showcase parks. From time to time, the former park superintendents and other professionals - free of bureaucratic constraints - would comment on inadequate budgets, maintenance problems, and air and noise pollution from snowmobiles.

A congressional subcommittee reported earlier this year that in 2002 and 2003 Park Service employees had taken more than 215 trips to China, South America, Africa, France, Italy and other foreign destinations at a cost of $94 million. The Park Service said employees were attending conferences or providing technical assistance to countries developing their owns parks or programs to protect endangered species. (Note: That works out to $437,209.31 per trip. Is something else wrong with > this picture???)

The group, called the Coalition of Concerned National Park Service Employees, has decided that selectively pointing out the need for addressing one or another problem will never bring about the degree of change that is needed. Instead, the coalition says the entire national park system needs an overhaul.

On Tuesday, the coalition issued what it described as "a blueprint to overhaul the management of America's national parks over the next 12 years leading up to the National Park Service's 100th anniversary in 2016."

Earlier this year the group accused Park Service Director Fran Mainella and her boss, Interior Secretary Gale Norton, of failing to carry out "the long-standing, time-proven mission of the National Park Service" and of implementing anti-conservation measures. Among these were rules affecting snowmobile use in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, and another affecting air pollution sources from power plants near national parks.

The Park Service's mission statement declares, "The National Park Service preserves unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the national park system for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations."

The coalition of retirees says it just isn't happening and it is clear that "there needs to be major changes in the processes and structures governing the management of the National Park Service."

The park experience has been deteriorating for several years, partly because of inadequate funding and partly because of mismanagement of the money available. A congressional subcommittee reported earlier this year that in 2002 and 2003 Park Service employees had taken more than 215 trips to China, South America, Africa, France, Italy and other foreign destinations at a cost of $94 million. The Park Service said employees were attending conferences or providing technical assistance to countries developing their owns parks or programs to protect endangered species.

The expense was outrageous and Mainella promised to reduce it significantly, but if the effects of her action manage to redirect money into preservation and conservation work - which is by no means assured - it would be a long time before it was evident.

Meantime, the coalition of retired employees says the operational budget of the Park Service needs to be increased by at least $600 million a year. It also calls for the creation of a non-partisan National Parks Blue Ribbon Commission to find "the most effective organizational model" for governing the park system.

It says the government should create a National Parks Restoration and Conservation Corps modeled after the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Depression-era work crews hired by the government to build roads, trails and campgrounds in national parks and national forests.

The coalition's suggestions reflect the frustration of its earlier attempts to get the attention of the Bush administration. It says the president's political agenda has interfered with the work of career professionals within the Park Service.

The blueprint for change comes from a group of individuals - several of them second-generation Park Service employees - with intimate knowledge of the issues at hand and a genuine concern for maintaining the national park experience for future generations.

Congress and the president should take the recommendations seriously and create a blue ribbon commission to explore realistically the needs of America's national parks.