Secretary Zinke Wants Interior Agencies Put Into 12 "Unified Regions"

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has laid out his vision for a reorganization of his far-flung department, one that calls for a dozen "unified regions" that generally follow the country's major watersheds. But it's also one that has drawn concerns about how it might adversely impact the National Park Service's mission to preserve natural resources for future generations. "These Unified Regions, rooted in the best science focused on watersheds and ecosystems, will simplify how the department is organized," Secretary Zinke wrote in a system-wide email sent Wednesday. "Presently, we have 49 different regions, so the move to the 12 Unified Regions adds clarity and simplicity to the department’s activities." Under the reorganization, which would involve the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, and other bureaus within Interior except for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the following regions would be created if the plan is approved by Congress...While Secretary Zinke wrote that the plan "will tap into the expertise and experience of you -- our most dedicated career civil servants," members of the Coalition to Protect America's National Parks haven't seen the wisdom of the reorganization clearly laid out. “It doesn’t give any facts at all about the reorganization," Phil Francis, the chair of the Coalition's executive council, said Wednesday. "The plan in my mind is not sufficient in order to tell what the details are going to mean. I’m still concerned about having non-NPS people in charge of regions which are serving multiple agencies. I don’t think it’s going to work well. It makes me wonder about changing policies.”...MORE