“A voice that cannot not be suppressed”
Former Director of National Park Service Speaks Out
The entire National Park System was recently “silenced” by the Trump administration after a Tweet was made comparing the crowd sizes of his recent inauguration to President Obama’s audience in 2009.
In fact, this “gag order” has affected several government agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Interior Department, (which oversees the NPS).
There was immediate public outcry concerning this order, and rogue government accounts quickly began popping up on social media in retaliation for the censorship — in order to ensure a voice in the national conversation.
The first and most infamous was from the “Alternate National Park Service” @AltNatParkSer, which tweeted defiantly:
“Can’t wait for President Trump to call us FAKE NEWS. You can take our official twitter, but you’ll never take our free time!”
Former Director, Jon Jarvis, had this to say about the Trump Administration’s recent attempts to silence the National Park Service:
“I have been watching the Trump administration trying unsuccessfully to suppress the National Park Service with a mix of pride and amusement. The NPS is the steward of America’s most important places and the narrator of our most powerful stories, told authentically, accurately, and built upon scientific and scholarly research.
The Park Ranger is a trusted interpreter of our complex natural and cultural history and a voice that cannot not be suppressed. Edicts from on-high have directed the NPS to not talk about “national policy”, but permission is granted to use social media for visitor center hours and safety.
The ridiculousness of such a directive was immediately resisted and I am not the least bit surprised.
So at Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site in Atlanta should we not talk about his actions to secure the rights to vote for African Americans in the south, or is that too “national policy”?
At Stonewall National Monument in New York City, shall we only talk about the hours you can visit the Inn or is it “national policy” to interpret the events there in 1969 that gave rise to the LGBT movement?
Shall we only talk about the historic architecture of the Washington, DC home of Alice Paul and Alva Belmont or is it too “national policy” to suggest their decades of effort to secure the rights of women can be linked directly to the women’s marches in hundreds of cities last weekend?
And as we scientifically monitor the rapid decline of glaciers in Glacier National Park, a clear and troubling indicator of a warming planet, shall we refrain from telling this story to the public because the administration views climate change as “national policy”?
These are not “policy” issues, they are facts about our nation, it is how we learn and strive to achieve the ideals of our founding documents. To talk about these facts is core to the mission of the NPS.
During the Centennial of the National Park Service, we hosted over 300 million visitors (now that is huge) to the National Parks and most came away inspired, patriotic and ready to speak on behalf of the values we hold most dear.
The new Administration would be wise to figure out how to support the National Park Service, its extraordinary employees and their millions of fans.”
The National Park System covers more than 84 million acres of public land, and is comprised of 417 sites with at least 19 different designations.
These include:
- 129 historical parks or sites
- 87 national monuments
- 59 national parks
- 25 battlefields or military parks
- 19 preserves
- 18 recreation areas
- 10 seashores
- 4 parkways
- 4 lakeshores
- 2 reserves
The NPS maintains 879 visitor centers and contact stations which were visited by more than 307 million people in 2015. More than 500,000 attended special events and ranger programs. More than 660,000 children participated in the “Junior Ranger” program.
The NPS employs more than 22,000 permanent, temporary, and seasonal workers. They are assisted by 440,000 Volunteers-In-Parks (VIPs), who
donate about 7.9 million hours annually.
“We who are gathered here may represent a particularly elite, not of money and power, but of concern for the earth for the earth’s sake.”
- Ansel Adams
