Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke pledged Friday to root out harassment across the National Park Service/NPS

Faced with a survey showing that nearly 40 percent of the National Park Service workforce has been the victim of sexual harassment, intimidation, or discrimination, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke on Friday promised immediate and lasting reform, saying "there’s an expectation that not only can (the Park Service) be the greatest stewards of our lands, but also they should be the greatest stewards of our values."

According to a survey of workforce behavior launched last year, 38.7 percent of the Park Service respondents complained about some form of harassment. Slightly more than 19 percent reported gender harassment, and 10.4 percent reported sexual harassment.

What perhaps is striking about the survey results is they were compiled in the past 12 months and show continuing abhorrent behavior long after national attention came to an investigation depicting a long-running and sordid chapter of sexual harassment within Grand Canyon National Park, as well as after former Park Service Director Jon Jarvis pledged his agency would take a zero tolerance approach to such matters. Congress held hearings into the matter, some called for Director Jarvis to resign, and the Park Service said it would root out the perpetrators.

Interior Secretary Zinke, speaking Friday afternoon to reporters during a conference call from the Grand Canyon after he discussed the survey results with park employees, said that approach wasn't taken.

"In the past, zero tolerance has been an empty phrase. Instead of taking real action against harassment, the National Park, some leadership, has fallen back and taken no action," he said. "Clearly, there has been sexual harassment, intimidation, retaliation within the Service, and that is not in keeping of the traditions of the fine Service itself.

“I can tell you, from the president and myself, that’s over. We’re going to root out this virus, and it begins with putting a new culture forward, a culture that embraces diversity of thought, embraces teamwork, a culture that embraces the best of the Park Service values and understanding how important it is of being the stewards of our greatest treasures."

Secretary Zinke's promise, though, was challenged by two Democrats in the House of Representatives.

Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Rep. Donald McEachin – the ranking member of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee who requested a congressional hearing on sexual harassment at the National Park Service (NPS) in June – released the following statement on today’s NPS survey in which 38 percent of employees report experiencing some form of sexual harassment.

“Dumping this news on a Friday afternoon, without any clear next steps, suggests this administration still isn’t taking this problem as seriously as it should," said Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.). "Stopping sexual harassment will require changing the agency’s culture, which has survived through administrations of both political parties, and that won’t happen unless Secretary Zinke makes this a genuine priority. Congress has a responsibility to ensure that Secretary Zinke takes command of ending sexual harassment, and I stand ready to work with (House Natural Resources Committee) Chairman (Rob) Bishop (R-Utah) to hold a hearing on this employee survey and next steps from the Interior Department as soon as possible.”

“I have repeatedly asked Secretary Zinke, both in person and through written correspondence, to prioritize addressing the culture of sexual harassment that has permeated the NPS,” said Rep. Donald McEachin (D-Va). “This problem is far too serious and has gone on for far too long. We need long-term, systemic solutions. I urge Secretary Zinke to listen closely to the survey results and quickly implement changes that will eliminate all forms of sexual harassment in the NPS. I also implore Chairmen Bishop and (Rep. Bruce) Westerman to heed requests to hold congressional hearings to remedy this issue further.”

An investigation by the Interior Department's Office of Inspector General in 2015 that discovered that for roughly 15 years life deep in the Inner Gorge of Grand Canyon National Park at times reflected rowdy, sexually charged scenes from a frat party for some National Park Service employees, with male employees pawing and propositioning female workers, some of who at times exhibited their own risqué behavior.

While then-Director Jarvis said he expected complaints of harassment to be investigated, and disciplinary action to be taken, there were instances where some individuals were simply transferred to other positions. Those instances were raised with Secretary Zinke on Friday by Grand Canyon employees.

"What we heard was a lot of frustration from the employees is that there just was no action being taken," the secretary told reporters. "Individuals were being transferred, nothing was documented in their records, they could be promoted and then come back. The bottom line is we need to take action on harassment, intimidation, and that is clearly what we intend to do.”

To that point, at least nine Park Service employees at Grand Canyon have either quit or retired rather than face discipline, and two were terminated, Grand Canyon Superintendent Chris Lehnertz said.

Acting-Park Service Director Mike Reynolds, also on the conference call, said he knew of at least four instances across the Park Service where employees were either terminated or opted to retire. 

"I have fired four across-the-board in recent weeks," Secretary Zinke added. "Many of the solicitors said I couldn’t do it, and I did it anyway because I think it’s an important part when it's credible, when the IG investigations exceed one inch. And this is intimidation, sexual harassment, abuse of a power over time. Action needed to be taken.”

While Mr. Reynolds outlined four steps the Park Service was taking to wipe out this behavior, including more investigative work and better training for supervisors and employees, the secretary made it clear that the workforce would either correct its behavior or look for jobs elsewhere.

Grand Canyon isn't the only unit of the National Park System with misconduct issues. Yellowstone National Park, Canaveral National Seashore, DeSoto National Memorial, and Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area also have issues.

How successul the administration will be remains to be seen. A similar problem more than two decades ago prompted the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board to note that, “(A)gencies should find ways to capitalize on what is already known about the most effective actions that can be taken to prevent and eliminate sexual harassment; that is, they should publicize penalties and encourage assertive actions on the part of employees who are targets of unwanted sexual attention.”

The nearly universal awareness of sexual harassment policies among members of the Federal workforce indicates that agencies have done a good job in getting the word out about their policies. Less is known among the workforce about what happens to people who harass others. Employees should be made aware of how the agency intends to discipline proven harassers. Victims should always be informed about what happened to their harassers, and penalties should be public enough to serve as examples to potential harassers that management’s prohibition of sexual harassment is more than lip service.