Elaine F. Leslie

As retired career federal employees, and as senior managers who strived to protect natural and cultural resources and the visitor experience, we have something to say. And we hope someone in the Department or Administration takes a minute to listen.

We’ve been through changes before from one Administration to another. Some were certainly more friendly to parks and our mission than others. But we always managed to compromise, retain critical initiatives (even if we had to rearticulate “climate change” as “environmental change”), and move forward empowering and supporting staffs throughout the system to do their jobs and do them well.  It wasn’t that hard since the overwhelming majority of National Park Service (NPS) staff are dedicated, passionate, and skilled at those jobs.  Whether trained on the job or earning a degree in their field before entering the NPS workforce on a seasonal, term, or permanent appointment, the workforce has stood out for more than 100 years as protecting our nation’s natural and cultural heritage and telling America’s stories in a way that relate, that matter, and are truthful.

What makes these recent times so disheartening, distasteful, and disturbing, is that this Administration, this Secretary of the Interior and their subordinates and who they are subordinate to, didn’t even take a minute to find out what these employees do day in and day out. To throw out a mantra that federal employees are a direct link to “waste, fraud and abuse” can’t be further from the truth. 

That being said, we know there are some less than stellar employees and, as managers, it can be very difficult to hold an underperformer accountable, let alone fire them, when in truth, they negatively can affect a workplace environment that is chock-full of excellent performers. We get that. That is not just in the federal workplace but state and private. This is just such a small part of the federal workforce and our focus should be on retention of the thousands of excellent employees who protect our public lands, our at-risk species, our Native American ruins sites, our historic homesteads and forts, and all of the American stories the NPS sites tell.

The fact that we are about to lose amazing scientists, archaeologists, anthropologists, interpreters, admin and human resource staff, law enforcement and firefighters, and some truly dedicated  superintendents, regional directors and associate directors and their staffs is unthinkable. These are people who support our parks and ensure that they perpetuate for our children, our grandchildren, and the future.

What threw us over the top these past two weeks is the rewriting of our American history. Many of us have worked hard throughout our careers to be inclusive and to ensure that the workforce reflected America and our American values. What happened to the Harriett Tubman website and the Underground Railroad (even though course correction finally took place), Stonewall National Monument, and even the Smithsonian museums, is nothing short of appalling. What’s next? Where is next? Jamestown? The story of the Buffalo Soldiers? Pullman National Historical Park? Frederick Douglas site?

As we are about to celebrate the country’s 250^th, what are we celebrating really? The end of our democracy? The rewriting of our history and the contributions that African Americans, Hispanic, Indigenous peoples or migrants to this country made?

What is clear is that the natural and cultural resources and stories our parks curate for the American public are low priority. In the recent words of Interior Secretary (Doug) Burgum, “help us serve our customers better than we have in the past. Help us drive our costs down and our revenue up.”

Enough is enough…we expect this Secretary of the Interior to stand up and do his job, which is to protect this nation’s parks. We expect all senior leadership in the department and the National Park Service to stand up and voice what is right. While those of us on the outside are doing our best to be heard through interviews, articles and rallies, current employees, even those about to be displaced or walk out the door, need to be vocal.

Tell the American people and the world what you have stood for your whole career and how the actions being taken by this president and his staff are just wrong. The “waste” is the fact that they are throwing these talented and skilled workers to the curbside. The “fraud” is the fact that they have labeled the federal civilian workforce as disposable without even finding out what they do day in and day out. The “abuse” is what they are putting the workforce and their families through right now….loss of a job and income, benefits, health care, confidence and value.

The American people deserve better, the NPS workforce deserves better. Being vocal is what we have to celebrate-so use your voice!  

Clara Wooden

As a retired National Park Service employee who worked her entire career focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion, what the current administration is doing to eradicate any resemblance of historical and current inequities, racism, oppression, and Equal Opportunity is a travesty. The very words — equity, inclusion, equality, diversity — is a threat to those who fear the reality of the United States becoming the melting pot of many nationalities. The United Stated is not a homogenous nation, it is a highly diverse nation with a population characterized by a mix of racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds.

The country we love and embrace so dearly was built on the backs of those who were thought to be less than: property, immigrants, slaves. The Reverand Martin Luther King, in his “I have a Dream" speech, focused on the promise of equality enshrined in the nation's founding documents and how that promise had been denied, especially to Black people. He emphasized the need for America to live up to its ideals of freedom and justice for all, regardless of race.

The First Amendment of the Constitution protects our individual right of speech, but that too has been surpassed for fear of identification and retaliation of job loss. Everything many have fought and died for is being intentionally and systematically dismantled and destroyed.

The current administration is functioning as a dictatorship with the thought that it possesses absolute power without effective constitutional limitations. Its strategy is one used by Hitler, that of expansionist policies fueled by racist ideology. If it is allowed to continue in this vein, the very foundation of liberty will be a vanishing dream.

We must speak out, go out, march out, and proclaim we will not be intimidated by the rich, narcissistic, racist, and self-proclaimed king. The removal of language, statues, websites, all references reminding U.S. citizens and those visiting our great nation, will not and does not remove the guilt, stain, pride, or legacy of the ongoing fight against racism and prejudice. We know and understand that those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Those who do not remember their past are condemned to repeating their mistakes. Those who do not read history are doomed to repeat it. Those who fail to learn from the mistakes of their predecessors are destined to repeat them. We will not forget!

Clara Wooden has over 30 years of service with the National Park Service managing Regional Youth Programs, Regional Fee Programs, Park Ranger Programs, Federal Employed Women’s Programs, and Recruitment, Diversity, and Inclusion programs.  She also served in the position of Associate Regional Director, Administration, Information Technology, EEO, and moved on to serve in the position of Deputy Regional Director before her retirement. Clara was awarded the Secretary of the Interior Diversity Award in 2021. 

Elaine F. Leslie served in multiple positions during her nearly 30-year tenure with the National Park Service, including Regional, WASO, park program managers, Park Superintendencies, and Acting Superintendents. Elaine has worked to conserve, restore, and preserve both natural and cultural resources throughout her career, as well as a conservation biologist with an emphasis on landscape and biodiversity conservation. Ms. Leslie currently serves on the NPCA Wildlife Advisory Committee, Paint Rock Forest Research Center and Alabama River Diversity Network Executive Board.

Both Clara and Elaine serve on the Executive Council of the Coalition to Protect Americas National Parks.