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Coalition Of National Park Service Retirees Worried About Pressure On National Park Service

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Bowing to political pressures, the National Park Service has allowed the South Rim of the Grand Canyon to reopen for business with help from the state of Arizona, while the Old Faithful Inn and the rest of Yellowstone National Park remains closed. Top photo by David and Kay Scott, bottom photo via Xanterra Parks & Resorts.

National Park Service officials have found themselves turned into political pawns, first as the administration's face of the government shutdown and now by being splintered through a handful of park openings.

The political standoff in Congress has greatly raised the profile of the agency, but not as "America's best idea." Rather, as administration foes would have it, as an overzealous agency determined to inflict as much public inconvenience as possible.

The shutdown of the National Park System has spurred "occupy" movements by some business owners angered by the lack of park visitors to cater to, "civil disobedience" stands in a bid to "take back our parks," and at least one criminal action in the form of an artifact hunter taking to Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park with a metal detector.

The economic pain of missing tourists during the height of the fall tourism season prompted officials in Utah, Arizona, Colorado and some other states to work out agreements with the Interior Department to, essentially, loan the department enough money to reopen Arches, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands, Grand Canyon, Rocky Mountain, and Zion national parks.

Not interested in "bailing out" the federal government was Wyoming, while officials in Washington, Montana and California also declined the opportunity to loan the government money to open more parks.

Park Service officials, meanwhile, also relented and let the concessionaires who run the Pisgah Inn and Peaks of Otter Lodge along the Blue Ridge Parkway reopen those lodges for business.

This splintered approach to opening parks and inns has created a new tapestry of the National Park System, one that is not in the best interests of the Park Service, according to the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees.

"The Coalition of National Park Service Retirees has consistently advocated that Congress pass a budget, open the entire federal government including ALL of America's 401 national park areas. We sympathize with the National Park Service as they have faced unrelenting political pressure to accept state funding to open just a scant few national park units through special agreements with some states," Joan Anzelmo, a former park superintendent and now with the Coalition, said Sunday. "In its own sad way, the degree of pressures that have been applied speak to the extraordinary places that America's national parks are and the huge economic generators they are for their respective communities and states.

"However the same partisan politics that caused this very unnecessary shutdown are also some of the same tactics used to force the agency to open a few parks," she added in an email. "We think this will further divide the country and separate 'the haves' from the 'have not states.' The irresponsibility of Congress in not passing a budget is increasingly pitting Americans against Americans."

The antipathy towards the Obama administration has provided much fodder for right-wing columnists and bloggers, who rallied particularly under an anonymous quote from a Park Service ranger who purportedly claimed, "We've been told to make life as difficult for people as we can."

The use of anonymous sources poses a slippery slope, as the New York Times' Public Editor noted Sunday. On one hand, if that ranger's quote had a name attached to it, there very likely would be ramifications for him or her. But anonymity can lead to questions to the veracity of the quote, too. Was that really the message from Park Service Director Jon Jarvis, or possibly only the thoughts from a disgruntled Park Service employee?

In the end, the pressure on the Park Service from Congress, states, and partisan bystanders is enormous.

"We particularly deplore the way some in Congress, some in the states and some in various political groups have intentionally put National Park Service employees in the crosshairs of sensationalized coverage, often ignoring the real facts to score partisan political points," said Ms. Anzelmo.

"Park rangers, long a revered symbol of America, who spend their days helping park visitors, including at times putting their lives on the line to save others, are being grossly used by partisans to fuel hateful sentiments," she added. "It is unprecedented in the history of the agency now approaching its 100th anniversary in 2016. It is also dangerous for the employees who remain on duty.

"Our greatest hope is that all National Park Service employees remain safe throughout the entire National Park System. Further, we continue to urge Congress to pass the budget now."

You can follow the Coalition on Facebook, on their home page, and via twitter, @NPSRetirees.

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Comments

Sara. Have any of the Dems that voted overwhemingly to keep the parks closed done the same?


Kurt, I agree with you about the closure of the parks and it's effects on travelers and businesses. But those closures happen every 'shutdown'. My comment was directed at the other types of closures this time that either haven't happened before or are more extensive this time. Things like Claude Moore, Pisgah Inn... and the mall.

Those closures are ones that are likely to make the public less benevelent in their feelings about the NPS in the future...


The first time concessionaires were made to close down during a shutdowns was during the shutdowns of November 1995 and December 1995-January 1996. The Pisagh Inn isn't open during those months. As for Claude Moore Colonial Farm, I gotta wonder why this one was such a fascination for everyone. The McLean Patch covered the closure of Langley Fork Park, but not the closure of Claude Moore which is next to Langley Fork.


"...tactics used to force the agency to open a few parks..."

This sounds like the spokesperson for the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees is complaining that politics are FORCING the agency to OPEN parks...Yikes! I don't agree with but I do understand their fears about state invovlement and sporadic park openings etc. But regardless of those concerns, rhetoric like that does not sound good to the American people.

Check yourself before you wreck yourself. Take a deep breath, and try to look at this from the point of view of the visitor. Some parks open is better than no parks open.

I'd suggest (in bold italics) the coalitition's official statements sound more like this:

....However the same partisan politics that caused this very unnecessary shutdown are also some of the same tactics that are allowing the agency to only open a few parks...


MikeG has it exactly right. The National Parks are certainly one of our best ideas, the National Park Service, not so much. The reality could be worse than the founder's fear that the NPS might become "just another federal agency." Judging by the dismal scores in management catagories from the annual Best Places To Work employee surveys for the past decade, the NPS has become one of the more poorly-managed branches of government.

On repeated viewings of Ken Burn's fine production on the National Parks, a perhaps unintended theme emerged for me. Among the triumphs of creating the world's finest park system, the series also chronicles a series of serious management mistakes, from bear feeding to predator control to fire supression to overzealous road-building, and the continuing commercialization and over-development..

Future historians and filmmakers might highlight how recent and current management seems to place a higher priority on protecting and expanding their budgets, bureaucratic turf, and political connections than on reasonable public access to their parks. I cringe everytime I hear confused NPS personnel or press releases refer to "NPS boundaries" rather than park boundaries.

Green Salsa also has it right, With all due respect to the many fine NPS field employees, what happened to Service?


Now, The Rest of the Story on Equality ? among all Americans ?

suggested by the GOP's Glenn Beck in:

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/10/12/watch-live-help-fix-up-d-c-event/

Glenn Edward Lee Beck

Net Worth: $100 million

Source of Wealth: radio, television, entrepreneur

Born: February 10, 1964 in Everett, Washington

Children: 4

Glenn Beck earned his wealth as television and radio host. He formerly hosted the Glenn Beck news show, which originally aired on CNN Headline News (now HLN). In 2011, he moved from being a Fox News host to the owner of his own Internet network, TheBlaze (formerly GBTV). His multimedia production company, Mercury Radio Arts, had revenue of $75 million in 2012.

His digital assets include GlennBeck.com, The Blaze (which gets millions of visitors a month), Markdown.com (discount shopping website), and 1791.com (online clothing store).

How much money does Beck make?

Annual earnings (salary, speeches, merchandise, tours, other income)
2012: $85 million
2011: $50 million
2010: $40 million
2009: $25 million

Contracts

2012 – Signed a five-year, $100 million contract with Clear Channel’s Premiere Networks. That comes out to a salary of $20 million annually.
2007 – Signed a five-year, $50 million with Premiere Radio Networks.

He also earns about $10 million a year from print (books plus The Blaze magazine). He has written several books including Common Sense, The Christmas Sweater (children’s picture book), and Arguing with Idiots.

- See more at: http://celebnetworth.org/glenn-beck-net-worth-salary#sthash.yAREuIxV.dpuf


The National Park Service has lost it's way as evidenced by it's vindictive and punitive actions towards the American Public during sequester and the government shut down.


I think its important to remember all the other employees of the US Government that are taking it in the shorts along with the citizens who depend on these services and are also being disregarded by the antics of the extreme right of the Republican party. I suppose the tea party crowd is going to hold us hostage to the debt default issue. Perhaps when we cannot pay the bills approved by the US Congress, (including this Congress), and people really feel the pain nation wide, some of the anti-government babble will cease. Especially social security, well the list is endless. I support what the NPS is doing, I am terribly disappointed that the congress, primarily on the far right, have so little respect for so many people. I can tell you that the Coalition of Retired NPS Employees is right on about this. I myself cannot be paid for a fire I was on for 25 days, did get some before the shutdown , but the rest is sitting on empty desks of furloughed employees. Sorry EC, I am not saying you are wrong, we all have a right to our positions, I just profoundly disagree with you on this issue.


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