Eco-Justice Working Group --

Take Action! New Park Service Management Plans Threaten Integrity of Creation

Psalm 19:1 declares that "the heavens are telling the glory of God and the firmament proclaims his handiwork." Many people of faith experience deep connections to God and spiritual growth while exploring the wild parts of creation. And for those of us caught up in busy modern lifestyles or hectic urban settings, National Parks like Yellowstone, Zion, and the Great Smoky Mountains, offer some of the best escapes for prayer, spiritual discernment, undisrupted family time, and reconnecting with the Creator. But the National Park Service is in the process of changing the rules governing the parks, and the new changes could mean increased commercialization as well as more air pollution, haze, noise, and damage from off-road vehicles and livestock.

In October, the National Park Service (NPS) proposed a number of changes to the park Management Policies - the document that forms the foundation for everyday management of the park system. The proposal has drawn criticism from former Park Service employees and groups like the National Parks Conservation Association (see below for more details). In November, the U.S. Senate held a two-hour hearing to question Park Service leaders about the changes, and at the end, senators from both parties hailing from Hawaii to Tennessee expressed concern that the draft plan would damage the parks.

A quick look at the document shows some of the reasons why:

Key provisions, which clearly set "conservation," "resource protection," and "preservation" as top priorities for the Park Service, have been deleted (Section 1.4.3).
Intangible but important attributes like "clear skies" and "natural soundscapes" have been demoted from essential resources to "associated characteristics" (Section 4).
Prudent guidelines for off-road vehicles, such as "the least impacting equipment, vehicles, and transportation systems should be used" and "routes and areas [for off-road vehicles] may be designated only in locations in which there will be no adverse impacts on an area's natural, cultural, scenic, and esthetic values," have also been removed (Sections 8.2.3 and 8.2.3.1).

The good news is that the proposal is not finalized yet, and the Park Service is accepting public comments on it until February 18, 2006. As people of faith, we can bring an important moral and ethical perspective to bear on this issue, so please take a moment to let the Park Service know how you feel. Click here to send a letter through the website of our sister organization, Faithful America.

From the Experts:

The Coalition of Retired Park Service Employees is a group of 460 former employees of the National Park Service (NPS), many of whom were senior leaders and received awards for stewardship of natural and cultural resources. They hold a broad spectrum of political affiliations and come together with a mission to "speak and act for the preservation and protection of America's national park areas and for the enjoyment of them in such manner that does not impair their resources nor their intended values and purposes."

On November 30th, a group of 25 former high-ranking NPS employees sent a letter to Park Service Director Fran Mainella, urging her to scrap the proposed revisions to the park management policies. The letter states that the revisions are "not driven by law, by any conservation need, or by any failure of practical application" and that they stray from the NPS's "overriding responsibility to preserve resources on behalf of all Americans, including those yet unborn."

Read the Letter

View the Press Release

Learn More:

Read about U.S. Senators' reactions to the Park Service Proposal

View the full text of the proposed revisions.