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National Park Service & Nepotism

Trying to make sense of a crazy world, with limited success mostly
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ZinWhit
Posts: 547
Joined: Mon May 24, 2021 10:53 am
Occupation: Homemaker

National Park Service & Nepotism

#1

Post by ZinWhit »

A draft I will never finish.

***

Nepotism as Inertia

Recently I was reading an HCN piece about how the NPS has suppressed a report on workplace harassment. In it was a response from agency spokesperson Anzelmo which made me recall her parent was a Superintendent and is often used by the media as an "expert." Some followers of Malheur might remember her (Joan).

My spouse and I are former NPS employees and for decades we have discussed nepotism in the NPS and beyond to all bureaucracies in general.

While at Yosemite we watched it in practice with several high ranking officials including Steve Shackleton (former NPS Chief of LE; former YOSE Chief Ranger; father former Chief Ranger) and Mike Reynolds (former Regional Director; Acting NPS Director; father former Regional Director). We discussed Cam Sholly (Current YELL Superintendent; former YELL Chief Ranger; father former YELL Chief Ranger) and Fred Fagergren (former ZION Superintendent; son current ZION Chief Ranger). About how father and son former NPS Directors Horace and Stanley Albright set the standard from the get go.

Now, imagine the entirety of the NPS and federal workforce.

My background includes a graduate degree in Public Administration. I know a primary reason we have a Merit Systems Relations Board and Office of Special Council is Congress created laws to combat nepotism and promote professionalism within the Civil Service. To also combat bureaucratic inertia.

Imagine the discussions around the dinner tables about workplace harassment (much less environmental carrying capacity), at their conferences, the inertia of the in-crowd who "bleed green and grey."

One can argue that the NPS is resistant to organizational change precisely because of generational nepotism.

https://www.hcn.org/articles/south-nati ... harassment
Conservation is what conservation does and it sure ain't preservation.
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