Members of National Park System Advisory Board resign to protest Zinke

Ten of the 12-member National Park System (NPS) Advisory Board (NPSAB) signed a letter of resignation Jan. 15, citing the administration’s inaction. “For the last year we have stood by waiting for the chance to meet and continue the partnership between the NPSAB and the DOI [Department of the Interior] as prescribed by law,” wrote NPSAB Chair and past Alaskan governor, Tony Knowles, in the letter to Secretary of the Interior, Ryan Zinke. “We understand the complexity of transition but our requests to engage have been ignored and the matters on which we wanted to brief the new department team are clearly not part of its agenda. I wish the National Park System and Service well and will always be dedicated to their success. However, from all of the events of this past year I have a profound concern that the mission of stewardship, protection, and advancement of our National Parks has been set aside. I hope that future actions of the Department of Interior demonstrate that this is not the case.” The NPSAB is a 12-person group of volunteer experts in their fields related to the NPS and related issues of ecology, science, land management, and more. The group does not have any official power but has served since 1935 to advise the director of the NPS and the secretary of the interior on matters related to the National Parks. — WLJ