Jonathan and Destry Jarvis have been fighting for the national parks for more than 50 years and have now co-authored a book that details their battles, inside and outside the National Park Service. On Tuesday May 17 the two will sit down with the National Parks Traveler Editor Kurt Repanshek to discuss their new book, National Parks Forever, Fifty Years of Fighting and a Case For Independence.
The brothers’ careers have left them with keen insights into not only the incredible resources in the National Park System, but also the politics that can strain the National Park Service.
Jonathan served in the NPS for four decades as ranger, biologist, superintendent, and as the 18th Director of the agency during the Obama administration. Destry has been a conservation leader for over five decades in National Parks Conservation Association, Student Conservation Assocation, National Recreation and Park Association, and the International Council on Monuments and Sites. He served eight years in the NPS and the Interior Department in the Clinton administration as NPS assistant director.
In the book, each presents their own perspectives, history, and actions on a range of issues from the establishment of new units of the system to the parks in Alaska. Told in their distinctive voices, they detail the history of how Congress and Interior Department political appointees have used budget, organization, reassignments, and policy revisions to undercut the stewardship mission of the National Park Service. Their conclusion, one that has been quietly discussed for many years, but now spelled out, is that the National Park Service should be freed from the Department of the Interior and re-established as an independent federal agency akin to the Smithsonian Institution.
On May 17 Jonathan and Destry will explain to Kurt how they came to that conclusion during an hour-long webinar airing live at 7 p.m. Eastern, 5 p.m. Mountain, and 4 p.m. Pacific. There will be limited capacity (up to 500) to attend this live program, but it later will be made available on the National Parks Traveler website (https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/). The discussion also will be captured for a podcast to air on May 22. There is no charge to attend the live presentation, though a donation to the Traveler would be appreciated.
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZApdumtrjwiGtNfHhdptD173BiUckv...
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
You can order a copy of the book at:
https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/N/bo147207881.html.
Comments
I'd love for someone to ask Jon why he didn't appear to fight very hard for a budget that kept pace with inflation or create a career path for his employees. From the inside, Jarvis's tenure appeared at best lackadaisical
Not to mention ethically challenged...
It's almost as if Jon Jarvis wants NPS "independence" so that ethical and legal lapses (like his own) are investigated "in house"! Sorry, no government agency (fed, state or local) should be independent--WE taxpayers demand accountability for spending and behavior within OUR agencies.
Destry has been a conservation leader for over five decades i
And a well-paid lobbyist for many of these "non-profits" who had no qualms about meeting with his brother as NPS head, all the while representing his clients' business interests (that included a Colorado river-running outfitter within Grand Canyon NP) before the NPS.
Amazing.
Is it no wonder why they want an "independent" NPS?
With all due respect, this is an awful idea.
There is plenty of money in the federal budget to adequately fund the public lands - I don't think giving all of it to the military state is a good use of anybody's taxes. Budgets reflect values; I do NOT believe most Americans value the war state over the public lands.
Privatizing all public assets - a program which has been underway for decades - is unAmerican and damn dumb. Look at how poorly concessioned campgrounds are run - only the basic cleaning and fee harassment - no ability to answer any questions from visitors about natural or cultural history.
The politics of ngos are, if anything, far worse than those in dedicated public agencies.
How in hell to fund that new - what? - Boas national heritage inc trust? (https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/bezos-donates-200m-smithsoni... ) If they pay they get to have their name on such places: https://airandspace.si.edu/udvar-hazy-center So, let's see - the Zuckerberg National Park, Yosemite Branch? Or Maybe the Trump National Historic Site? (There is, in fact, a Trump State Park in NY, I believe, which folks are working to rename.) And how do these new NP namers make their bucks. I have a family story.
Dad was one of the best plant managers in the US in great days of pre-offshoring of production. He was so good that when he was hired to turn around a failing company owned by the homosexual heir of the founder (an heir who only wanted money from the company), Dad did just that. Productivity jumped, lost time accidents vanished, and the local union shop took a fine - in San Francisco, mind you, a strong union town - rather than strike because Dad was so fair. Then, the company became a plumb; those who hired Dad sold the company to a Trumpish carpetbagger from Germany, a hedge fund owner who became the richest man in America in those days by buying and destroying companies for profit - like Mitt Romney or the guy that bought Sears. He fired Dad - "You care about the employees; I don't give a damn about employees" - and put our family into an economic tailspin from which Dad never recovered. (This is exactly what Suckerberg and his Bo-ass buddies do.) The result? The evil German, Kluge, donated his poisoned profits to the Library of Congress to build a Center for scholars and Congress to interact - https://www.loc.gov/programs/john-w-kluge-center/congressional-programs/ - which includes participation by the yokel, J.D. Vance, who Trump just endorsed in Ohio.
Is this the future you want for the NPS?
I have former Ranger colleagues who worked with JJ and have the greatest respect for him. But as someone who went from the NPS to NASA, I am apalled at how the NPS and other public land agencies seem to have NO idea about how to build strong coalitions to fund and support the parks - Mather was able to do so in much more challenging times. I could share the story of how NASA - Ames beat off the dogs, and how NASA has dodging militarization twice, but will save it for another time. The NPS needs to be polite, but polite with large and smart gonads.
O