Environment: August 2005 Archives

From a NY Times Editorial of August 29, 2005:

Recently, a secret draft revision of the national park system's basic management policy document has been circulating within the Interior Department. It was prepared, without consultation within the National Park Service, by Paul Hoffman, a deputy assistant secretary at Interior who once ran the Chamber of Commerce in Cody, Wyo., was a Congressional aide to Dick Cheney and has no park service experience.

Within national park circles, this rewrite of park rules has been met with profound dismay, for it essentially undermines the protected status of the national parks. The document makes it perfectly clear that this rewrite was not prompted by a compelling change in the park system's circumstances. It was prompted by a change in political circumstances - the opportunity to craft a vision of the national parks that suits the Bush administration.

The story has been reported in the LA Times, NY Times, and elsewhere. A valuable resource regarding this deplorable proposal can be found at the site of The Coalition of Concerned NPS Retirees. This site contains revision marked sections of the proposal.