Interior Department Reorganization Could Leave NPS Director Relatively Powerless

There are concerns that a reorganization of the Interior Department under David Bernhardt would essentially leave the directors of the National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service powerless/DOI

There are concerns that if the proposed reorganization of the Interior Department comes about as designed, directors of the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Bureau of Land Management would be left largely powerless to manage their agencies.

While the man who broached the reorganization idea -- Ryan Zinke -- is gone, the man largely believed to have constructed the plan -- David Bernhardt -- has been nominated to become the next Interior secretary.

Although the messaging behind the reorganization states that it will "modernize the Department for the next 100 years of land and water management, and better coordinate collaborative conservation, recreation, and permitting," it also calls for political appointees in the Interior Department to manage the 12 regions the reorganization proposes.

Those positions -- Interior Regional directors -- "are expected to manage the work of employees across bureaus whose focus is recreation, conservation, permitting, or shared services."

A letter sent to U.S. Sen. Mazie K. Hirono, who sits on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee that will hold a hearing on Bernhardt's nomination, by an anonymous federal employee warns that "this means each Interior regional director would have decision-making authority within the regions. Oil, gas, and mineral extraction would certainly dominate all decision-making of the Park Service or Wildlife Refuges (sic), not preservation and conservation. ... Even the Park Service (maintenance backlog) would be second to leasing our public land, including park land for oil, gas, and coal extraction."

"The parks would be managed under the direct supervision of a departmental political or a politically motivated SES (Senior Executive Service) employee," added the letter, which was copied to the Traveler. "The proposed department reorganization would abolish the directors' line item supervision..."

A member of the team of "regional facilitators" created to shephard the reorganization to completion told the Traveler that there is concern that the plan as currently written would essentially leave both the Park Service and Fish and Wildlife Service directors largely powerless to manage. Unclear to the committee, though, is exactly how much authority the Interior regional directors would have, and even if this section of the reorganization plan remains intact.

But, this individual said, questions specific to the roles the Park Service and Fish and Wildlife Service directors would have under reorganization so far have not been answered.