You may want to consider contacting your congressperson and expressing
your opinion, (pro or con), about impending privitization and
commercialization of these resources. Changes are being considered that
could profoundly change the park experience, afloat or ashore.

Broader description of issue follows:


500-MEMBER NATIONAL PARK RETIREE GROUP URGES CONGRESS TO STOP
"HOSTILE TAKEOVER" OF NATIONAL PARKS

Widely Criticized NPS Rulebook Rewrite Seen as Clearly Violating Intent
of 1916 Law; Ill-Conceived Bid to Open Up Parks to Commercialization
Also Faulted.

WASHINGTON, D.C.//February 15, 2006///A respected coalition of nearly
500 national park leaders with more than 14,000 years of relevant
experience today formally called on Congress to order a halt to a
controversial rewrite of the National Park Service (NPS) management
rulebook and a related plan by NPS Director Fran Mainella to open up
national parks to inappropriate ads and other commercial exploitation.

In testimony before the Subcommittee on National Parks, Committee on
Resources of the United States House of Representatives, John W.
"Bill" Wade, chair of the executive council of the Coalition of
National Park Service Retirees, said: "We urge this Subcommittee to
direct the Secretary of the Interior and the Director of the National
Park Service to abandon the current rewrite of the policies, rather
than persisting in trying to fix a deeply flawed process and content.
To polish the apple when it is rotten at the core is a waste of
time."

Wade, who retired from the NPS just over eight years ago after a
32-year career that included nearly a decade as superintendent of
Shenandoah National Park, noted: "The mission of the NPS is to
conserve the resources unimpaired for the enjoyment of this, and future
generations. We believe that the Secretary of the Interior and other
leaders of the Department, and the Director of the National Park
Service are, in fact, abrogating this duty and already are compromising
the mandate of the 1916 (Organic) Act.. Moreover, we believe that if
the draft 2006 policies are implemented, the result will be
substantially greater compromise of the 1916 Act. Management of the
National Park System has been extraordinarily free of political whim
- until now. All indications are that nearly 90 years of consistency
in interpretation of the legislative mission of the National Park
Service is at the brink of crumbling and that the National Park System
is in jeopardy of suffering a 'hostile takeover' by
recreational (primarily motorized) and commercial interests."

Wade criticized Mainella for a more than half a dozen "disingenuous
and vacillating statements" since the rewrite began - including an
apparently false claim that more than 100 NPS career professionals
worked on the national park management rulebook rewrite - that have
been calculated to mislead the American public and news media about the
sweeping and illegitimate nature of the proposed changes being sought
by Interior and NPS' political appointees.

Wade also expressed the Coalition's grave concerns about elements of
"director's order #21" that would be used by Mainella to embark
on virtually unrestrained commercialism in national parks. Wade said:
"We are very disturbed that the specific prohibitions against
accepting donations from companies that generate revenue by selling
firearms, tobacco and liquor have been removed. Opening the door to
such donations violates, in our opinion, the long-standing tradition
that National Parks are different from every place else. The
boundaries of parks mean something; when a visitor enters, he/she is
leaving the common and entering the extraordinary. Let's not cheapen
that by accepting money from sources that do little to contribute to a
healthy America."

Wade added: "We are equally disturbed by the relaxing of the
standards that govern the acknowledgement and recognition of donations,
gifts, and other grants. Again, parks are different. Visitors go
there to escape the commercialization that exists everywhere in their
daily lives. They shouldn't be subjected to named buildings,
commemorative benches or patio bricks, donor walls, sponsored
interpretive programs, and the like. Let's keep national park areas
free from this kind of scenic and psychic litter. We are not in favor
of NPS employees, in any way, being allowed to solicit donations from
park visitors. Visitors are guests of the National Park Service. They
come to be inspired, educated, enthralled, and to enjoy themselves.
They don't come to be panhandled by a bunch of gray and green
employees."

Finally, Wade faulted Interior and NPS officials for stifling
legitimate internal debate and professional disagreement about the
attack on national parks. The CNPSR spokesman said: "... they
have disrespected the experience and professionalism of perhaps the
most dedicated work force in the civil service. They have created a
culture of fear in the organization. We have received anecdotal
evidence from our numerous contacts within the NPS that despite the
fact that very few career employees support the draft policies or
believe they are in the best interests of the resources of the National
Park System and the American people, many of them do not intend to
comment on the draft policies because this fear of retaliation and
marginalization is so widespread."

ABOUT THE COALITION

The Coalition of National Park Service Retirees now consists of over
480 individuals, all former employees of the National Park Service,
with more joining us almost daily. Together we bring to this hearing
over 14,000 years of experience. Many of us were senior leaders and
many received awards for stewardship of our country's natural and
cultural resources. As rangers, executives, park managers, biologists,
historians, interpreters, planners and specialists in other
disciplines, we devoted our professional lives to maintaining and
protecting the national parks for the benefit of all Americans -
those now living and those yet to be born. In our personal lives we
come from a broad spectrum of political affiliations and we count among
our members, five former directors or deputy directors of the National
Park Service, 25 former regional directors, or deputy regional
directors, 28 former associate or assistant directors and 120 former
park superintendents or assistant
superintendents.

CONTACT: Patrick Mitchell, (703) 276-3266 or
.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The full text of the Wade testimony on behalf of
CNPSR is available online at http://www.npsretirees.org.





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