Interior Official Slams Former Parks Board

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A U.S. Interior Department official on Wednesday blasted the resignation of most members of a board that advises it on national parks, suggesting the move was politically motivated and their work was flawed. Todd Willens, associate deputy secretary of the department, brought up investigations that uncovered sexual harassment at national parks such as the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone and an internal investigative report of a guidebook written by former National Park Service leader Jonathan Jarvis. “We welcome their resignations and would expect nothing less than quitting from members who found it convenient to turn a blind eye to women being sexually harassed at national parks and praise a man as ‘inspiring’ who had been blasted by the inspector general for ethics and management failures,” Willens said. Nine members of the 12-member National Park System Advisory Board, including chairman Tony Knowles, a Democratic former Alaska governor, resigned Monday in a letter to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, saying their requests to meet were ignored. The Washington Post, first to report the resignations, said a 10th member stepped down Wednesday. It’s the latest hit to committees that advise the Trump administration. Half the expert members of a board that advises the Environmental Protection Agency on the integrity of its science were not reappointed last May.

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