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U.S.
Senator Member: Agriculture, Energy, Veterans' Affairs, Ethics and Aging Committees |
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For Immediate
Release June 19, 2006 |
CONTACT: Cody Wertz – Comm. Director 303-455-7600 Andrew Nannis – Press Secretary 202-224-5852 |
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – New, more protective National Parks management rules, proposed today, will go a long way toward ensuring that our country’s National Parks are adequately protected for future generations to enjoy. These new rules, vastly altered from earlier drafts, address the deep concerns expressed by United States Senator Ken Salazar about efforts to change how our Parks are managed, and reflect the public input Salazar fought to ensure. Today, the Department of Interior and the National Parks Service released new draft rules that restore the 90-year-old management principle to “First, do no harm,” and abandon efforts to institute a less protective approach to park management. Over the past year and a half, Senator Salazar repeatedly pushed former Interior Secretary Gale Norton, Secretary Kempthorne, National Parks Service Director Fran Mainella, and others in the Administration to receive more public comment and re-think their proposed rules which would have decreased protections for National Parks. “The draft released today is an encouraging step towards preserving our National Parks and protecting our National Heritage,” Senator Salazar said. “I am extremely pleased that Secretary Kempthorne and others have reaffirmed the core “Do no harm” standard. It was a mistake to attempt to undermine this bedrock principle of Parks Management.” Tomorrow, representatives of the National Parks Service and the National Parks Conservation Association will testify before Senator Salazar and the Senate Energy and Natural Resources’ National Parks Subcommittee to formally discuss these new rules changes. Senator Salazar added, “Thanks to the input of the public, Park Service employees and retirees, and a bipartisan group of legislators, today’s draft restores the stronger protection of soundscapes, air quality, and clear skies contained in the 2001 policies. These new rules will also benefit from the same public input that was so critical to exposing the flaws contained in earlier drafts. I look forward to beginning the public examination of the rules tomorrow during the Committee hearing.”
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