Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said Thursday that his first priority is to address the National Park Service's staggering maintenance backlog/Interior Department
In his first outreach to employees of the Interior Department and all its agencies, including the National Park Service, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke wrote Thursday that his top priority is to address the maintenance backlog within the National Park System and ensure that any bill to address the nation's ailing infrastructure includes "shoring up our nation's treasures."
"The parks are part of our nation's crown jewels, famous the world over. The president is committed to a jobs and infrastructure bill, and I am going to need your help in making sure that bill includes shoring up our nation’s treasures," the secretary, who was confirmed by the Senate on Wednesday and sworn in later in the day by Vice President Mike Pence, wrote in an email.
In his message, Secretary Zinke reiterated his admiration for President Theodore Roosevelt and his commitment to conservation.
"I'm an unapologetic admirer and disciple of Teddy Roosevelt. I believe in the traditional mixed use 'conservation ethics' doctrine laid out by (Gifford) Pinchot, but realize that there are special places where man is more an observer than a participant, as outlined by Muir," wrote the secretary. "I cherish our public lands. I have absolutely and unequivocally opposed any attempts to transfer, sell, or privatize our public lands, and serving as their top steward is not a job I take lightly. I approach this job in the same way that Boy Scouts taught me so long ago: leave the campsite in better condition than I found it."
Muir and Pinchot, the first chief of the U.S. Forest Service, came at conservation much differently. Muir favored preservation of wild areas, while Pinchot thought resources on public lands should be utilized.
Pinchot and Muir became major antagonists on the issue of Hetch Hetchy Valley. The deepening schism between Muir and Pinchot eventually grew into a great split between the preservation wing and the utilitarian wing of the conservation movement. -- Sierra Club history
Beyond the National Park Service's maintenance backlog, which has been estimated at $11.9 billion but which Secretary Zinke pegged at $12.5 billion, the secretary also placed a high priority on improving employee morale and to respect the sovereignty of Indian Nations and territories.
Ryan Zinke headed to his first day as Interior secretary on a horse/U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement
Regarding morale, Secretary Zinke said he intended to "ensure those of you on the front lines have the right tools, right resources, and flexibility to make the decisions to allow you to do your job. We serve the people, not the other way around. Washington has too much power. I think we need to return it to the front lines."
As for Native Americans, he wrote that, "I'm proud to be an adopted member of the Assiniboine-Sioux from Northeast Montana. My commitment to the territories and Nations is not lip service. I worked hand in hand with many of Montana's tribal governments to advance important legislation in the House. My first bill in Congress was to federally recognize the Little Shell of Chippewa Cree and most recently my Blackfeet Water Rights Settlement Act was signed into law earlier this year."
Secretary Zinke now must work on filling out his staff, including finding a director for the National Park Service.
Comments
Perhaps Secretary Zinke neads to re-read his Boy Scout Manual?
"Evans called it ironic that one of the first actions by Zinke — a self-described champion of hunters and anglers — "leads to poisoning of game and waterfowl eaten by those same hunting families."
http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/New-Interior-Secretary-Zinke-rever...
I am a little confused by your article tahoma, what is a "spent lead casing"?
Dunno, EC, but good catch. I suspect it's an error and the author meant 'spent lead shot'.
Makes one question the credibility of the article. Personally, I haven't seen much evidence this is a major problem. Are some birds killed by lead poisoning, yeah but is it a signficant threat to the population? I don't see it. On the other hand, the cost to move from lead to some other metal doesn't seem to be that high. This appears to be much ado about nothing - on both sides.
If nothing else it indicates the power of the NRA.
And dozens of other hunting and fishing organizations
Good thing we have those hunting and fishing organizations trying to help keep our environment livable.
As a matter of fact, Lee, hunting and fishing organizations were critical in the founding of conservation. Here is the definitive work by a colleague of mine:
https://www.amazon.com/American-Sportsmen-Origins-Conservation-3rd/dp/08...
In my impetuous youth (are you listening, Young Scholar?) I panned the first edition of this book in the JOURNAL OF FOREST HISTORY. I have always regretted that review, the more so as I have discovered the truth of Reiger's scholarship. At the very least I could have been more balanced. The Boone and Crockett Club predates the Sierra Club, for example, from which Theodore Roosevelt's ideas on conservation sprang.
Every fall, my uncles in New York State got their deer licenses, and treated us all to venison. They hunted among tens of thousands of acres of territory made possible by those licenses in the first place. My uncles also bought their duck stamps and helped save wetlands across the state.
You worry about Donald Trump? I don't. He's another boy from New York. It's in our blood: We started with Theodore Roosevelt. Our state textbooks (all of them) taught that history. Now? Find me anyone teaching the history of conservation without labeling most of the movement in a negative light, i.e., they were white, rich, and male. Well, many were. And without them we would have nothing to show our grandchildren, you know, those polite young people like Young Scholar.