NPS Retirees Fault Agency’s Draft 2006 Management Policy

By Deborah Fitts

December 2005

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A proposed new management policy for the National Park Service (NPS) that critics feared would erode preservation of the parks has been scrapped, but a new version may not be much better, park supporters say.

Paul Hoffman, a deputy assistant secretary in the Department of the Interior, floated a plan last summer that encouraged commercial activities in the parks, eliminated the requirement to preserve park resources “unimpaired” for future generations, and envisioned granting local and state authorities a measure of control over the parks.

An outcry ensued and top officials at the Park Service beat a hasty retreat. But a new draft, now undergoing a public-comment period, continues to provoke sharp criticism.

The 440-member Coalition of NPS Retirees declared in late October that the new document was no more than “a watered-down version” of Hoffman’s earlier attempt. A political appointee, Hoffman formerly served with the Chamber of Commerce in Cody, Wyo.

NPS Director Fran Mainella “and the rest of the political leaders are trying to say that this one was written by a hundred career professionals,” said Bill Wade, chairman of the Coalition’s executive council and former Superintendent of Shenandoah National Park. “But no one can quite come up with who these hundred are.”

Wade said it was “pretty clear” that some aspects of Hoffman’s version got into the new 200-page draft. If it’s adopted, he cited the “probability” of increased use of off-road motorized vehicles in the parks, increased air and noise pollution, the proliferation of cell-phone towers, and the threat of grazing, timbering and oil exploration.

Wade laid the blame on the “political leadership” in the Department of the Interior. “They seem to have a whole different value system about what the parks mean and what they should provide,” he said. In October, secretary Hoffman was quoted at a press conference complaining that the current management policy was “anti-enjoyment.”

Among Hoffman’s revisions in the earlier draft was a change in the NPS mission to preserve the parks “unimpaired” for future generations. Hoffman redefined the word to mean an irreversible impairment, which critics said could open the parks to damaging recreational activities.

The management policy is updated every dozen to 15 years. It was last re-written in 2001 and before that in 1988. NPS Deputy Director Steve Martin explained at a congressional hearing Nov. 1 that the new policy was needed to provide “further clarity” about the way the parks are managed. The management policy serves as a blueprint for operations at the 388 parks nationwide.

Asked the motivation for the proposed changes, Wade replied, “That’s a good question. It’s clearly known that of almost 300 million people who visit the parks every year, over 90 percent say they are satisfied or extremely satisfied. So it doesn’t appear to be the visitors” who want changes.

“Our belief is there’s strong influence by commercial entities like motorized recreational vehicle interests. They’re very heavily involved with certain people at the Department of the Interior, and they’re trying to open up more access.”

Among a handful of witnesses addressing the senators was William Horn, former assistant Interior secretary, who now represents the Snowmobile Manufacturers Association and argued that preservation of the parks has eclipsed enjoyment.

But another witness, former NPS Deputy Director Denis Galvin, argued that there was “no need” to rewrite the policy, and pointed to the overwhelming support of the parks by the public. Opening the parks up to “thrill-type recreation activities” would “kill the goose that lays the golden egg.”

Galvin pointed to an array of other recreational facilities, public and private, at the federal, state and local levels. But he said the “unique natural and cultural places” of the Park Service should be protected. He called for “good citizens to step up their support for their national parks as they are, and as they are intended to be, preserved unimpaired for future generations to enjoy. Special interests must give way to the national interest if the national parks are to flourish in the future.”

At presstime the public comment period on the new draft policy was set to expire in January. Comments may be directed to the National Park Service, 1849 C St., NW, Washington, D.C. 20240, attention Office of Policy.

According to their Web site, the Coalition of NPS Retirees includes many top former NPS officials, including six directors or deputy directors, 15 regional directors and deputy directors, 20 associate and assistant directors at the national and regional level, 40 division chiefs and nearly 90 superintendents and deputy superintendents.

The draft 2006 Management Policies is available for review and comment at www.nps.gov and http://parkplanning.nps.gov/waso