House Republicans on Wednesday pilloried
National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis for his handling of
national park and land closures during the government shutdown, raising
questions about whether the agency’s reputation has been sullied by
images of landmarks being barricaded to keep the American people off
their own land. A tense joint hearing of the House
oversight and natural-resource committees took place Wednesday following
allegations that the NPS and its rangers had allowed themselves to
become a political arm of the Obama administration, erecting the
barriers to score political points and remind Americans of the primacy
of government stewardship. Mr. Jarvis vehemently denied
those charges, saying nothing could be more painful for rangers than
turning visitors away. Still, the 40-year NPS veteran, who assumed the
top post in 2009, acknowledged that “lessons have been learned” about
the agency’s special guardian status over America’s natural treasures –
especially during times of crisis. One of those
lessons is for the service to be better prepared to stave off closings
by working with local and state governments to keep funds flowing. When
asked whether the parks belong to the government or are, in fact, the
people’s land, Jarvis answered, “They are the people’s land.” Republicans on Wednesday charged that it cost
the NPS more money and resources to barricade the monuments than to
simply use essential personnel to police them. They also faulted Jarvis
and his agency for waiting until the shutdown commenced to begin
ameliorating the economic damage for rural areas and tourist towns.
Within 10 days, the Department of the Interior, which oversees the NPS,
had reopened a dozen parks as well as some private enterprises that take
place on federal lands. “You made your point, that you
could punish the American people by taking away assets they care about,
and that everything you’ve done to reopen some parks could have been
anticipated and done in advance,” said Rep. Darrell Issa (R), chairman
of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. “If you can reopen a
parking lot, for example, doesn’t that mean you had the authority to
never close it?” “The policies have been arbitrary,
inconsistent, and ever-changing,” said Rep. Doc Hastings (R), chairman
of the Committee on Natural Resources. Mr. Jarvis said he and a skeleton staff of
attorneys and superintendents began looking immediately at “workarounds”
for major sites like the Grand Canyon, as well as smaller, privately
run enterprises on federal land. The dozen parks that reopened used
state funds, after first being told that only Congress could reopen
them. “We took prudent and practical steps to secure the life and property
of national icons,” Jarvis said. “There were no politics involved here,
just our responsibility to take care of national parks with the
resources we have.” “I realized that in the proverbial heat of the
battle, wasn’t anyone watching the news? Couldn’t someone come forward
and admit they made a huge mistake?” said Anna Eberly, who testified on
behalf of Claude Moore Colonial Farm, a privately run attraction on
federal lands in Virginia that was forced to close but later allowed to
reopen. “Maybe it was the White House, the Department of Interior, or
maybe the Park Service acted on their own, or maybe nobody is in charge.
Either way, the Park Service looks foolish, inept, and not worthy of
managing the resources entrusted to them.” Jarvis explained
that shutting down the 24,000-worker federal agency is a difficult
task, and he also apologized for the amount of time it took to reopen
areas such as the privately run Jamestown Settlement, which sits on
federal lands. He refused to disclose with whom at the White House he
discussed the scope of the closures, but added that he made the ultimate
decisions...
more
When
asked whether the parks belong to the government or are, in fact, the
people’s land, Jarvis answered, “They are the people’s land.”
The people's land? What bunk. If nothing else came out of this partial shut down, it demonstrated once and for all that these lands are owned and controlled by politicians who will use them to suit their own purposes. The people's land? They want you to believe that, but you should know better.
Those White House squirrels better run for cover.
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