Bruce and Sara Schundler, who alleged they lost their seasonal jobs as rangers at Mesa Verde National Park for bringing attention to suspect spending by the park's former superintendent, have been vindicated by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel.
In a ruling last week, the OSC staff's investigation revealed that the couple was not rehired at Mesa Verde "in part because of their perceived whistleblowing."
The couple's struggles to investigate the spending habits of the former superintendent led to their decision to launch a website to chronicle their efforts, which involved a long and evasive process through the Freedom of Information Act procedures.
Bruce Schundler was subjected to a correspondence-heavy, administrative maze since requesting information on Mesa Verde's fiscal 2007 and fiscal 2008 budgets, the travels of its superintendent, and the number of unfilled vacancies at the park. Mesa Verde officials initially put off his first requests for the information, saying the staff was too busy to comply immediately
In its ruling, the OSC noted that the Schundlers "had spotless work records at Mesa Verde National Park..." In raising concerns about the then-superintendent's spending habits, they alleged that he had used National Park Service funds "to travel excessively to conferences and seminars, in support of a private company," the OSC finding noted.
"They filed Freedom of Information Act requests for information on the matter and also filed a complaint with the Inspector General. The (Office of Inspector General's) report found that the park superintendent’s actions 'created the appearance of a conflict of interest,'" the OSC noted. "The following season, the couple was tentatively offered seasonal park ranger positions again, only to see the offer rescinded.
"The OSC investigation showed that Mesa Verde management decided not to rehire the couple in part because of their perceived whistleblowing."
After the OSC investigated the matter, the Park Service "agreed to provide the couple with seasonal work at another national park of their choosing and to reimburse them for expenses incurred in anticipation of the rescinded rehiring."
“I’m pleased that the National Park Service corrected the actions its employees took against these park rangers,” said OSC Special Counsel Carolyn Lerner. “All federal employees have the right to blow the whistle on perceived wrongdoing without fear or retaliation.”
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Comments
So the NPS is just a reflection of the country, Lee? Sorry, that doesn't pass the smell test. For those of us not affiliated with the NPS, this stinks worse every day. I don't believe that most people in the US are as corrupt or devious. The NPS has an upper level image problem and the facts of it are undeniable. They operate with impugnity and take advantage of the goodwill so freely offered to them. Its time for NPS oversight. Oversight now.
It's a rampant mentality with in the NPS, they live the lie until it takes them down. But they know there is no accountability so it does not matter who gets hurt.
The liberal good ole boys club, aka the NPS.
All-I think we have to be careful not to tar all managers in the NPS with the same brushes we might tar the supervisors of Danno and Schundler. Being a superintendent in the NPS was the hardest job I ever had. There were scores of decisions every month that caused me to review the management policies and consult with the hunan resources staff. Those posters such as beach who claim that the NPS is the "liberal good ole boys club" must not have jobs that involve multiple supervisory and policy decisions. I suspect that being a superintendent is even more difficult now given the political differences that exist in our country. What passes for environmental debate now is nothing more than shrill posturing,
At the end of each day, I used to ask myself: have we done something good for the area's resources today? Have we provided high-qualiity visitor services? Have we successfully engaged park interest groups? If the answers were yes, I knew we had a pretty good day.
There are 4 or 5 posters on NPT who have specific issues with an individual park--beach with Cape Hatteras, smokiesbackpacker with Great Smoky Mountains, perpetual seasonal with whatever park terminated him at the end of his appointment. Those are legitimate issues that deserve discussion but it is difficult to get through the fog of blanket condemnations of the NPS to get to them.
Rick
I would also say in response to Rick B. comment that events like this in the NPS get more attention because of the old image of how the National Park Ranger is supposed to be a paragon of virtue. It is shocking to many to learn that usually the amount of virtue is inverse to the pay grade. As the management of parks has increasingly shifted from the old fashion ranger and into the hands of bureaucrats this is the result.
As natural selection works in nature to weed out the week and the sick there is a perverse type of unnatural selection in the NPS that weeds out those with integrity from getting past the GS-9 level. (and that is if they are lucky)
Even those who are not active wrong doers must be complicit and silent in the wrong doing of management. I have been in staff meetings with a superintendent who said "I don't care how many rules I have to break to keep the doors open I'm going to do it" You have these hard charging gung ho superintendents who are sent to a park with a mission and they mean to get it done regardless. They can't come back to their superiors and say 'I'm sorry but regulation X,Y&Z is stopping me.' To do that would be more harmful to their careers than anything done to flatten some whistle blower.
The experiences of one person, you, reprated in multiple locations, might easily lead one to conclude the only common factor is you.
I am not nor have I ever been an NPS employee, but in my experience across dozens of people, the average GS9 or above I've met has above average integrity. I know that is true for the half dozen or more >9 currently of my acqaintance in the local park.
Sorry your experience has soured you, but your ongoing bad experiences in absolutely no way invalidates my good experiences. I frankly don't doubt that you will continue to find what you expect to find.
I should have included the DOI with my brush.
Remember the old story about the guy who was moving to a new town. He asked someone from the town what the people who lived there were like. That person turned the question around and asked what the people were like in the town he was moving from.
"They're some of the worst humans on earth. They're judgemental, they lie, they find fault with everything," was the reply.
"Then those are the kind of people you will l lkely find in this town," said the town native.
The next day another new comer asked the same man the same question. Again, he turned the question around. This time, the newcomer said, "Oh, they were wonderful. Kind, honest, accepting of everyone. Great people!"
The native smiled and observed, "Then those are the kind of people you will find here."
That story seems very appropro in many cases at Traveler, too. When we seek with prejudice, we find what we want to find and ignore what we don't.
Gee, when I was a seasonal ranger (11 summers), I never knew what was happening adminstratively in the park, I was just worried about what was happening on my shift and whether everyone would be ok at the end of it. Maybe that's the difference between a protection division seasonal like I was and an interpretive one. Otherwise, I can't explain how the perpetual seasonal knows all those things unless he spends a lot of his tine looking for them. It's too bad he never worked in a well managed park area. It's lots of fun.
Glad you included the DOI, beach. We wouldn't want to leave anyone out.
Rick