NPS Director Jon Jarvis has been reprimanded for ignoring Interior Department ethics rules/NPS
An investigation has found that National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis intentionally skirted the Interior Department's Ethics Office to write a book, a Guidebook to American Values and Our National Parks, for a cooperating association contractually tied to the Park Service, an action that brought the director an official reprimand from top Interior Department officials, who also removed him from any dealings with the Park Service's ethics office for the rest of his career as director.
Furthermore, Deputy Interior Secretary Michael Connor ordered Director Jarvis to receive monthly ethics training for the rest of his tenure.
"I am also concerned about the attitude the (investigation) demonstrates Director Jarvis exhibited toward important Departmental institutions such as the Ethics Office, the Office of the Solicitor, and the Office of the Secretary," Deputy Secretary Connor wrote in a letter (attached below) to Mary L. Kendall, deputy inspector general for the department.
In a short statement Thursday evening the director said, "I regret that I did not seek guidance on the most appropriate path forward to publish this book. I wrote the book to inspire and engage more Americans in our national parks, particularly during the National Park Service's centennial year. I consider it a good lesson learned and will ask for guidance if and when similar situations arise in the future."
Interior's Office of Inspector General began looking into the matter last June after being alerted to the book published by Eastern National, a cooperating association that has been working with national parks for 50 years At issue was "whether Jarvis used his public office for private gain by seeking a book deal with Eastern National and whether he misused any U.S. Government resources in the process."
Ethics Office guidelines specifically state that government employees who want to do outside work with any business or organization seeking to do business with the Interior Department must first gain approval from the Ethics Office, regardless of whether there's payment involved. Additionally, an attorney in the Ethics Office said "that even if Jarvis was not personally receiving money from the sale of the book, having his name associated with it could create the appearance that he was using his official position for personal gain."
The investigation also showed that Director Jarvis approached Eastern National with the idea, but that he had told Interior Secretary Jewell that Eastern National had asked him to write the book. It also showed that Eastern National Chief Executive Officer George Minnucci, after discussing the project on the phone with the director, later wrote him an email worded as if the idea was his. In his interview with OIG staff, Mr. Minnucci said Director Jarvis had not asked him to word his email in such a way, but rather he did so because "he wanted his staff to think the book was his idea and that it was 'a CEO decision.'”
The OIG report (attached below) stated that Director Jarvis said he "did not consult with the Ethics Office on the book because doing so would have taken too long, and with NPS’ centennial approaching, the book would be 'really powerful.'”
"Jarvis explained that he was frustrated with the Ethics Office for not being able to approve 'very, very simple things,'" the report stated. "As an example, he explained that a thank-you letter to a donor from him and the Foundation took 6 weeks for the office to approve, which led him to believe that approving the book was going to be a problem."
In one interview with investigators, Director Jarvis said he wasn't afraid of taking chances, such as failing to clear the project with the Ethics Office.
I think I knew going into this there was a certain amount of risk. I’ve never been afraid of a risk. . . . I’ve gotten my ass in trouble many, many, many times in the Park Service by . . . not necessarily getting permission . . . I’ve always pushed the envelope. . . . And I felt that this values analysis . . . could be a very, very powerful tool to not only connect to the next generation but to resonate across political spectrums.
“And from my view, from my experience, in the ethics world, having been an SES [Senior Executive Service employee] for almost a decade, I did not feel like I was violating any ethics issues because I set this up [with] no personal benefit, nothing gained for me personally," he continued. "What I was trying to prevent is having it edited."
While Director Jarvis did not seek to be paid for the book, and directed that any royalties go to the National Park Foundation, there was concern among some Interior officials that he retained the copyright to the title and allowed the use of the Park Service arrowhead logo on the cover and his title as Park Service director in places, "giving the appearance of Government endorsement."
In the end, it doesn't appear as if there will be any royalties for anyone. Eastern National officials told OIG investigators that while it had cost them $11,000-$12,000 to print the $7.95 book, they had only sold a little more than 200 copies and they didn't expect to make their investment back.
The investigation determined that Director Jarvis used his government iPad to write the manuscript; while he claimed to have worked on it outside office hours, the investigation determined that "it appears" there were at least nine occasions when Director Jarvis worked on it or corresponded with Eastern National officials concerning the book "on weekdays when he was not on leave and Government offices were open."
Comments
I am greatly disappointed in his response to the IG and his efforts to involve others to cover-up his actions. Had this been one of the last two directors (both women) - I doubt they would have survived misleading the Secretary of Interior. One more example of an entrenched good ol' boy club. People can have the best of intentions can be blind to their own predjudices. By his own actions - he has shown not blindness but an arrogance not worthy of his position. He should bow out.
I support Jon Jarvis. The negative comments are from people who had other axes to grind.
Oh, how the worm has turned. Those who are above having to clear their backroom dealings with the lower echelon peons. Jarvis is and has been a crook. His scandals are well documented and all you NPS kool aid drinkers need to take note. His brother lobbied the NPS on behalf of river operators and he didn't think that was a scandal. He railroaded Ranger Danno, ran out the Indian trader and now has been documented padding visitation numbers to increase his funding. A lie is a lie, no matter who tells it.
This comment was edited to remove gratuitous language. Also, Jon Jarvis was not director when the Hubbell Trading Post matter arose, nor when Rob Danno's problems with the Park Service arose. Finally, we're not sure how padding visitation numbers, if that occurred, could directly increase funding. Beyond that, NPS visitation numbers are notoriously soft. -- Ed.
It was a lapse of judgment and in the hustle and bustle of everyday work, sometimes the rules tend to be overlooked. Strong character, probably, but common sense? I wonder if none of his subordinates didn't call this to his attention. I am not sure he's being driven out of government. And as to being punished for doing right--well, I'd take that chance. At least I could sleep on that.
Jarvis was a regional director of the NPS and thus in upper echelon positions and fully part of the cabal prior to his confirmation in 09. He didn't just "ascend" to the NPS directorship on Obama wings. And the comments on this forum through the past years from retired NPS folks has indicated as much.
Director Jarvis has failed in his leadership responsibilities and this fact is reflected in how he consistently fails to model effective leadership conduct and intentionally violates the rules of his own organization. Good leaders never brag about intentionally violating policy, to the contrary, they use their challenges to demonstrate their leadership commitment to excellence and productivity, while succeeding at difficult tasks. They set high standards and raise the bar. They use these high standards to fuel high performance and create an organizational culture of integrity, competence and character.
For those of you who have either failed to notice or have not keep a handle on the repeated scandals in the NPS during the Jarvis years, take a quick look and try to understand the larger pattern which is at issue:
1) Stalled / Impeded media FOIA requests, for years, regarding the Mt. Rainer concessionaire who bought his Asst. Superintendent, David Uberuaga's personal home for a grossly inflated price, then tried to cover it up. Park whistle blowers disclosed the conflict of interest and malfeasance.
2) Promoted David Uberuaga to the Superintendent of Grand Canyon, managing a park with massive concession issues, after the above mentioned issue was confirmed by the DOI Inspector General.
3) Derailed Grand Canyon plan to eliminate plastic water bottles from the park when he received complaints from Coca Cola. Director Jarvis denied this and cited safety concerns, but PEER exposed his false statements through documents received through a FOIA request. Director Jarvis had to reverse his decision and allow the park to exclude water bottles.
4) Director Jarvis did nothing when it was discovered through an OIG investigation that Gettysburg Superintendent, John Latschar had used his government computer to view, download and store massive amounts of porn on his government computer. A whistle blower disclosed this fact to the Washington Post, embarrassing Director Jarvis and exposing the workings of the "Superintendents Club." Director Jarvis then had to reassign Latschar to another park service unit, maintaining another example of a clear Superintendent double standard, and he only took the action after the case was disclosed to the public.
5) Initiated and maintained an unethical case against Indian Trader, Billy Malone, even after it was confirmed through both NPS and DOI OIG investigation that the NPS conducted a bad faith investigation. The NPS is still fighting Mr. Malone and has still not made this right.
6) Maintained the unethical case against the Chief of the United States Park Police, Teresa Chambers until MSPB ordered the NPS to reinstate her and pay her over two million dollars of back pay, citing agency reprisal for her whistle blowing. Even after the MSPB order, the NPS fought against Chief Chambers reinstatement.
7) Maintained the unethical case against Chief Ranger Rob Danno, who blew the whistle on Superintendent, Kevin Brandt and past Director, Mainella for authorizing the unlawful tree cutting along the C&O Canal by billionaire owner of the Washington Redskins, Dan Snyder. The NPS settled due to the involvement of the Office of Special Counsel and PEER.
8) NPS maintained the unethical case against Superintendent, Mary Miller at Sitka National Historic park, until MSPB ordered the NPS to reinstate her as Superintendent and pay her back pay, due to the discrimination she suffered by the NPS.
9) NPS maintained the unethical position of stating the NPS was exercising its "discretionary authority" not to repair a known hazard at Lassen Volcanic NP, after a 9 year old boy, Tommy Botell was killed when a retaining wall failed. A federal judge ruled against the NPS and its park employees, after our own Special Agent testified against the park. The judge specifically stated that Superintendent Darlene Koontz destroyed evidence, obstructed the investigation and lied under oath.
10) NPS mismanaged a massive resource damage case at Effigy Mounds, disavowing and burying an NPS critical investigative report which implicated central office personnel, citing gross negligence / incompetence. The NPS actually denied that the investigative report existed to the President of the Friends Group.
11) Maintained an unethical case against a concerned whistleblower at Canaveral NS when the park violated purchasing and contracting policy. Superintendent was allowed to reprise against the park biologist and was not held accountable for the behavior, in fact, it was repeated.
12) The NPS failed to properly investigate and hold accountable those who were responsible for repeated and gross sexual harassment violations over a long period of time at Grand Canyon National Park. Reports suggest the NPS buried the issue, mismanaging it until it became a national scandal.
13) NPS grossly mismanaged both the Occupy Washington and Government Shutdown issues, allowing the agency to be played, while demonstrating invisible leadership. Even when one of our brave rangers stood up to an abusive Politian, suggesting she should be ashamed for doing her duty, the NPS Director was no where to be found. No public or internal statement was ever made.
14) NPS mismanages numerous fee issues (USS Arizona Memorial; C&O Canal and others).
15) NPS mismanages major concessions contracts at Grand Canyon and Yosemite, costing the agency and taxpayer millions.
16) NPS fails by any measure its requirement to display transparency by the Obama Administration. Director Jarvis continues his adversarial relationship with numerous internal issues.
There are so many more...
So, you ask yourself about the leadership of Director Jarvis? Well, try to put this current ethical violation into a larger perspective. Is there any wonder there is a lack of confidence is the director's leadership? Leaders, though demonstrating their ethical values, give rise to organizational misbehavior. The short-listing above is a result of his style of leadership.
Our employees have spoken repeatedly about these failings, providing repeated failing grades in Employee Viewpoint Surveys. The Director blames these poor grades on external forces, instead of taking ownership, responsibility and conducting the needed reforms this agency needs. After all, the failing grades are specifically directed towards senior leadership.
We need ethical, inspired leadership, not just an ambitious man hanging around for the centennial party. He has let us down; on so many levels. The privileges of leadership come with responsibilities. Violating agency policy and then justifying it to the Inspector General as "risk taking," demonstrates he neither understands nor appreciates the burden of leadership responsibility.
0
0
1
1012
5770
Honor Code Camps
48
13
6769
14.0
Normal
0
false
false
false
EN-US
JA
X-NONE
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
So who sets the example for every department on the Federal Level? You can look at every department at the Federal Level and see in many of them, if not all, GROSS ethics problems and unconstitutional behavior. How can Jarvis or any Director not be affected by the corrupted politics of their bosses. Trying to carry the banner of virtue is pretty difficult when you serve at the privelidge of a corrupted political system. Lots of good attempted but in the end it's all politics and it's getting worse not better.
Ax to grind? Not personally here. Just disgusted at the obvious and blatant hypocrisy displayed by a Director who knows better and considers himself above the rules he sets for others. Conversely, I suspect that at least some of his defenders on this site are beneficiaries of his "Leadership". If there is any doubt, check out NPS abysmal, declining scores in recent years, especially in the leadership categories, on the website "The Best Places to Work in the Federal Government.