National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis on Friday announced his retirement./NPS
Jonathan Jarvis, the 18th director of the National Park Service whose seven-year stint at the top of the agency witnessed the highs of the National Park Service Centennial and the lows of sordid sexual harassment scandals, on Friday announced that he would retire on January 3, 2017.
In a brief, two-paragraph note sent to the agency's employees, Director Jarvis didn't mention the scandals or ethical lapses committed by himself as well as many below him. Rather, he looked ahead to the agency's second century.
"The National Park Service is not perfect, but it is strong, resilient and beloved by the American people. The NPS fearlessly addresses some of the most complex issues of our society from climate change to civil rights and stands as a beacon to those who work to achieve the highest aspirations of the nation," he wrote. "I could not be more proud of the 22,000 employees who keep that beacon bright everyday in our parks and programs across the country. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, whose story we interpret in parks Atlanta and in D.C., said that 'the arc of the universe bends toward justice.' The collective weight of the National Park Service pulls that bend closer to environmental and social justice for all those who call this planet home. Keep pulling, be safe and I will see you in the parks."
Director Jarvis spent four decades working for the Park Service, rising from a GS-4 Park Technician on the National Mall in 1976 to superintendent positions at Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve in Idaho, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve in Alaska, and Mount Rainier National Park in Washington before moving to the Pacific Region office and, finally, the directorship in September 2009.
The low points of his directorship had to be both the sexual harassment scandals that arose from Grand Canyon National Park and then Cape Canaveral National Seashore and his upbraiding for ignoring ethics regulations in writing a book about American values and national parks for a cooperating association. Those two incidents combined led to U.S. Rep. Jody Hice, R-Georgia, to call for Director Jarvis's resignation, as well as a petition drive to accomplish the same goal.
The Park Service is continuing to try to right itself after the sexual harassment scandals, as well as charges that Yosemite National Park's superintendent, Don Neubacher, oversaw a hostile, bullying work environment. Those claims led to Mr. Neubacher's decision to retire. A hotline has been set up for Park Service employees to report charges of harassment of any kind, and two "ombuds" have been appointed to meet with employees to discuss problems in the workplace.
On the high side, the National Park Service Centennial brought a record number of visitors to the parks. Though official visitation numbers won't be available before February or March, through November the tally stood at 309,666,793, roughly 2.4 million above the 307,247,252 total for all of 2015.
But even the centennial highlighted negative issues with the parks, as some were overwhelmed by visitors and led to a number of parks seeking to identify a specific carrying capacity of tourists that they could safely manage.
Once Mr. Jarvis retires, his deputy director, Mike Reynolds, will serve as acting director until the incoming Trump administration fills the position.
Comments
I'm afraid Lee is quite correct.
Reading (some of) the comments section brings to mind a quote from Sam Rayburn: "Any jackass can kick down a barn, but it takes a carpenter to build one." It's a shame that Jon Jarvis and his adminstration did not act sooner in a few scandals, but overall the agency is better off for his tenure. He made it easier for students and term employees to qualify for jobs. A lot of people cannot appreciate the hostility that he faced in Congress as the face of the Obama Administration. There isn't anyone who could have walked away from being director without getting Benghazied to an extent.
Director Jon Jarvis's tenure produced more than a "Few" scandals, some of which - especially the one involving the former Lassen NP Superintendent - were sickening. He set the standard for corruption in the agency and his legacy owns it. It is one thing to leave a management position under fire, it is another to completely fail the test of ethical leadership.
I am curious: you mention several failures, & I would like to know the specifics, along with "...the list of scandals". If a person's reputation is attacked, I feel that documentation and facts from all sides should be presented. Thanks!
NPS Employee: I won't write a book, but here are a few:
Jarvis promoted Dave Uberuaga to Supt. of GRCA after previously issuing him a formal reprimand for a serious ethical lapse at his previous park. Uberuaga failed to take effective corrective action on the GRCA boatman sexual harassment case. When it became national news, Jarvis offered him a transfer to DC, but he took retirement instead.
The Superintendent of Lassen Volcanic NP was allowed to continue in her position for years and retire in place following a series of incidents related to a trail retaining wall, which was repeatedly reported as a safety hazard that was not corrcted. When a young boy was crushed to death after this wall collapsed on him, the Superintendent was implicated in a coverup which, according to the finding of a Federal Magistrate, included her ordering tampering with evidence and destruction of files.
Jarvis himself was officially reprimanded and disciplined by the Secretary of Interior for intentionally bypassing a mandatory review by the Dept's ethics office when writing a book, then lying about it to the Secretary. His punishment included removal as the NPS ethics director, and mandatory attendance at monthly ethics training.
Rather than giving you direct references, a google search should provide much corroborative information, including Interior Office of Inspector General reports, on these and other incidents.
Here is a "blast from the past" regarding some of the scandals of the Jarvis years. There are so many more and it would be really instructive to watch his congressional grilling regarding his admitted ethical transgressions, which took place last summer. Simply Google it... Jarvis has a lot to answer for. In an administration which was amazingly devoid of scandal, it is ironic that a little piss ant agency brought so many problems to the the President. He let the President down, as well as us.
Submitted by Ghost of Steven... on February 20, 2014 - 8:34pm.
Director Jarvis has failed in his leadership responsibilities and this fact is reflected in the consistently plummeting results of the annual employee survey of the Best Places to Work in the Federal Government. This year, the NPS dropped again to 200th out of 300 tested agencies. More to the point, the NPS "leadership" was rated by its own employees 250th out of 300. Director Jarvis tellingly blamed these failures on the impacts of "sequestration," the government shutdown and overall poor budgets. However, every rated federal agency in the survey experienced these same conditions and 200 of them still rated higher than the NPS, despite the many structural advantages of the NPS. Of course, the NPS has many advantages, like: managing our national treasures and places where people come to form lasting memories, a dedicated and educated work force, which is mission driven and so much more. Yet, the NPS work force is extremely unhappy with its leadership, that is, Jarvis and his management selections. Of course, he has never addressed these leadership failures in the survey, pivoting to the overall poor ranking. Good leaders never run from the "bad news," the embrace it and use it as fuel to make the organization better.
Just take a quick look at a short listing of failures under Jarvis:
1) Stalled / Impeded media FOIA requests for years, regarding the Mt. Rainer concessionaire who bought his Asst. Superintendent, David Uberuaga's personal home for a grossly inflated price, then tried to cover it up. Park whistle blowers disclosed the conflict of interest and malfeasance.
2) Promoted David Uberuaga to the Superintendent of Grand Canyon, managing a park with massive concession issues.
3) Derailed Grand Canyon plan to eliminate plastic water bottles from the park, when he received complaints from Coca Cola. Director Jarvis denied this and cited safety concerns, but PEER exposed his false statements through documents received through a FOIA request. Director Jarvis had to reverse his decision and alone the park to exclude water bottles.
4) Director Jarvis did nothing when it was discovered through an OIG investigation that Gettysburg Superintendent, John Latschar had used his government computer to view, download and store massive amounts of porn on his government computer. A whistle blower disclosed this fact to the Washington Post, embarrassing Director Jarvis and exposing the workings of the "Superintendents Club." Director Jarvis then had to reassign Latschar to another park service unit, maintaining another example of a clear Superintendent double standard, and only took the action after the case was disclosed to the public.
5) Initiated and maintained an unethical case against Indian Trader, Billy Malone, even after it was confirmed through both NPS and DOIOIG investigation that the NPS conducted a bad faith investigation. The NPS is still fighting Mr. Malone and has still not made this right.
6) Maintained the unethical case against the Chief of the United States Park Police, Teresa Chambers until MSPB ordered the NPS to reinstate her and pay her over two million dollars of back pay, citing reprisal for her whistle blowing. Even after the MSPB order, the NPS fought against Chief Chambers reinstatement.
7) Maintained the unethical case against Chief Ranger Rob Danno, who blew the whistle on Superintendent, Kevin Brandt and past Director, Mainella for authorizing the unlawful tree cutting along the C&O Canal by billionaire owner of the Washington Redskins, Dan Snyder. The NPS settled due to the involvement of the Office of Special Counsel and PEER. Of course, Superintendent, Brandt is still the Superintendent, another double standard.
8) Maintained the unethical case against Superintendent, Mary Miller at Sitka National Historic park, until MSPB ordered the NPS to reinstate her as Superintendent and pay her back pay, due to the discrimination she suffered by the NPS.
9) Maintained the unethical position of stating the NPS was exercising its "discretionary authority" not to repair a known hazard at Lassen Volcanic NP, after a 9 year old boy, Tommy Botell was killed when a retaining wall failed. A federal judge ruled against the NPS and its park employees, after our own Special Agent testified against the park. The judge specifically stated that Superintendent Darlene Koontz destroyed evidence, obstructed the investigation and lied under oath. Of course, Koontz is still the Superintendent.
So, you ask about "transparency" and the leadership of Director Jarvis? This is just a short public listing of issues and failures. Is there any wonder why there is a lack of confidence is the director's leadership? We know that we often get very poor leaders when political appointees are moved in (Mainella, etc.) However, Director Jarvis knows us and our problems. He is a career employee and knows how badly the NPS needs reform, real management systems and ethical and inspired leadership. We need his leadership to conduct serious reforms, not just hang around for the centennial party. Clearly, we are disappointed. He has let us down, choosing to fulfill his long-time ambition of becoming director, then failing to know what to do with the privilege of its authority.
Farewell to another director and to the Yosemite Superintendent that were unfriendly to the Valley Campers for as long as they reined. These and their predecessors failed us in the planning process for the Merced River Plan for more than 20 years, robbing visitors of the Native American tradition of Valley camping and forcing us to "pay-to-play." It's a rigged system and the good old boys club that they protect with impunity. Nepotism yes. Look who will stand in the director Jarvis' place, Mike Reynolds, son of John Reynolds the former Pacific Region Assistant Director. Who has Mike been married to....her name is Amy Schembeckler (SP) who was a chief Merced River planner sometime ago till she was called out. Someone has to "drain the swamp" in the NPS. Will U.S. Rep. Tom McClintock meet the challenge? We certainly hope so. He knows the roll big money has played in Yosemite's past and present. No one is stepping up to stop this caper. The harrassment issue was a big news getter but the deeds of management have been just as news worthy yet stuffed aside.
I worked for the NPS from 1984 through 2006 under several Directors. In my opinion it is time for someone outside the NPS to come in and shake up the agency a bit. The history of Directors has gone back and forth with people from inside the agency and others being appointed from outside. I think this helps keep a balance and benefits the National Park Service in the long run.