I led the National Park Service. Ryan Zinke leaves lasting damage

[nitpicker]

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/dec/16/ryan-zinke-resignation-jonathan-jarvis

I led the National Park Service. Ryan Zinke leaves lasting damage

Jonathan B Jarvis

Sun 16 Dec 2018 11.00 GMT

When President Trump’s new secretary of the interior Ryan Zinke rode a horse across the National Mall to the steps of his new office, there was cautious optimism, as a western congressman who professed to idolize Teddy Roosevelt seemed like a solid choice to govern 20% of the land base of the United States.
(snip)

But when Zinke had a new flag raised over the Interior Building, signaling to all there was a new sheriff in town, I knew we were in for some rough waters. Now that Zinke’s flag has been unfurled for the last time over the Department of the Interior, many of us who care deeply about our national parks and public lands have breathed a collective sigh of relief.
(snip)

At their best, past interior secretaries from both parties have found the right balance between conservation, preservation and development, bringing in science, public engagement and a stewardship view towards the future of our precious lands and waters. At their worst – embodied by James Watt, the secretary under President Ronald Regan who canceled a concert on the mall by the Beach Boys because they attracted the “wrong element” – science has been suppressed or ignored and resources that belong to the American people have been given away to those who saw only short-term profit.

While we were hopeful that Zinke would be one of the good ones, we were soon disappointed, then appalled. As he was surrounded by the staff of Gale Norton, secretary of the interior to President George W Bush, his doors were soon darkened by profiteers, big game hunters, oil executives, and climate deniers. Under Zinke’s flag, national monuments were carved up and reopened for development, exemplified by the reduction of Bears Ears national monument under the guise of a “review” under which Native American input was left out and public opposition ignored. Policies that planned for climate change’s impacts on national parks were rescinded, and leasing of public lands for development was accelerated (despite a glut of oil).

Career public servants, such as the superintendent of Yellowstone national park, were randomly moved to force their retirements, and others were threatened with either a forced reassignment or a complete elimination of their program. Climate scientists were told to edit their own research, eliminating any reference to human causes (but fortunately some refused).

Then Zinke rolled out a series of poorly conceived ideas: eliminate national park passes for the active military and fourth graders, increase national park entrance fees by several orders of magnitude, and require upfront payment for first amendment protests on the National Mall. Two years after he took the reins, the positions of director of the National Park Service and head of the US Fish and Wildlife Service remain vacant, unprecedented in history, leaving the two agencies rudderless and adrift.
(snip)

[2naSalit]

1. K&R

[Scarsdale]

2. So, what you are saying

is Zinke is one of tRump's "fine people"? We have been told that tRump hires only the best people. Sounds as though he confuses "finest" with "corrupt" Birds of a feather flock together. Anyone hired by tRump needs to be examined for past wrongdoing, since there seems to be an entire pool of incompetent people surrounding him. Maybe he thinks that he will look good, compared to the crooks he has hired?

[2naSalit]

4. ?

I said K&R, that's what I'm saying.

[JDC]

3. Lasting damage

[2naSalit]

5. Indeed...nt

[gademocrat7]

6. Zinke, another evil trump cabal member.

He should be punished for his actions.