The environmental group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) is claiming a “junior Trump political operative” is sabotaging the National Parks Service (NPS), according to a PEER press release Wednesday.
NPS Director acting director Michael Reynolds sent a June 30 draft document to the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) Legislative Counsel highlighting his agency’s concerns over legislation in Congress. A significant portion of the memo was removed and the agency was censored from talking to Congress, according to PEER
“National Park Service protests over serious adverse impacts from pending legislation have just ended up on the cutting room floor,” PEER claims. “These recent actions reflect both a reversal in fundamental national park policies as well as a much deeper politicization of park management by Trump operatives.”
The revision process, however, is a normal procedure as agencies try to coordinate with their departments to enact the president’s agenda, according to a statement DOI provided to The Daily Caller News Foundation.
“The claims are groundless and false. At no point did the Department tell the NPS not to communicate with Congress,” DOI spokeswoman Heather Swift said. “The document was an early internal draft meant to express the Department’s and Administration’s position on a legislative proposal. As is common in the Department, a dozen or more people across several bureaus and offices weighed in and exchanged ideas.”
An NPS statement to The Daily Caller News Foundation corroborated the DOI statement.
“Claims from anonymous sources and outside organizations that we were directed to not communicate with Congress are false and mischaracterize the process,” NPS spokesman Jeremy Barum said. “The [NPS] … regularly collaborates with the [DOI] during the review process for legislative proposals that involve multiple bureaus or include high priority issues for the Department. This process is consistent across administrations.”
PEER executive director Jeff Ruch, who obtained the memo and leaked it to press, “is in no way affiliated” with NPS, Barnum said in an email to The Daily Caller News Foundation.
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