[sinanju]

"The retirees feel that Bush has politicised the NPS?

Geez--the NPS has been that way for a long, long time...


Not too many NPS employees around that are NOT screaming left wing."
____________________________________________________________

My guess is that we are watching the harpooned thrashings of a bureaucratic beast sensing the end of an era. I wish I could know what long-time NPS bete noir Alston Chase ("Playing God in Yellowstone") has to say about Bush's actions vis a vis NPS and I would certainly like to know more about this new director Fran Mainella.

When you get down to specifics, this Rick Smith guy is bitching about the administration's attitude more than their actions. He goes on about how previous presidents deferred to him and his kind and then how the Park Service is getting disrespected by Dubya and his minions who actually seem to think THEY are in charge. He really only complains about the overturning of the snowmobile ban (which has been percolating for over a decade; I had forgotten it was another one of those Clinton executive orders) and the contracting out of some Park Service jobs (what bureaucrat would NOT be outraged by that?).

[FredZarguna]

After reading his book, I made it a point to see Alston Chase address the Greater Yellowstone Coalition about 10 years ago. He was quite good in the face of an obviously very hostile audience. You can disagree with him all you want, but he has an unbelievable store of facts and history right at his fingertips. As to this, I'm actually surprised that as small as 8% responded to the survey. I would expect the typical NPS employee to be a good bit more radical than this, based on my limited exposure.

And since we've mentioned it, let's plug the book. If you're interested in environmental issues, it's a bit dated but still great and well worth a read. Get it used if you're a cheapskate. Playing God in Yellowstone: The Destruction of America's First National Park by Alston Chase.