Staffing issues means there won't be any interpretive rangers based at Stehekin in the North Cascades National Park Complex this summer/Rebecca Latson file
A lack of staff at North Cascades National Park Complex has spurred a petition to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and National Park Service Director Chuck Sams asking that they "commit to fully staff Stehekin with rangers this summer" and keep the Golden West Visitor Center there open.
Implementing the request could be difficult for the park in Washington state, as it simply doesn't have enough bodies to go around, according to a park spokesperson.
"We understand the desire to have interpretive and general ranger staff available for personal interactions with visitors, but the staff departed from the two permanent positions in interpretation and visitor and resource protection divisions in Stehekin and we have not been able to refill those positions," said Denise Shultz, the park's visitor services chief.
Shultz explained the problem with filling the positions stems from a hiring process that can take up to 18 months, the difficulty with hiring permanent staff at Stehekin, and the uncertain funding climate.
"Without the permanent interpretive or general ranger positions in Stehekin, we will not be able to hire and supervise seasonals as we have done in the past," she said in an email. "The GWVC will not be open, but there will be information and interpretive materials available online as well as on the bulletin boards and waysides throughout the valley. Backcountry permits will be issued, and campground reservations will be available online as usual. Maintenance and resources staff will be working in Stehekin as usual, and backcountry/wilderness and fire staff will be rotating through."
Those who launched the petition drive pushed back against the park's position.
"The decision by the National Park Service to abandon Stehekin is a betrayal of Congress’s intent in assigning Stehekin to the care of the Park Service," reads a portion of the petition. "People from all over America and the world want to come enjoy this gem, and they deserve to be greeted by public servants. That is why we call on Secretary Haaland and Director Sams to publicly repudiate and reverse decisions to curtail ranger staffing in Stehekin this year.
Shultz said that while overall visitation to the park complex's three units — the Ross Lake National Recreation Area, North Cascades National Park, and Lake Chelan National Recreation Area — has risen 36 percent over the past decade to 1,066,380 per year, Lake Chelan visitation has remained "about the same" during those ten years, ranging from 38,000-40,000 per year.
"The park assesses and reviews operations on a continuous basis for the entire complex to best meet the needs of the majority of visitors," she added. "In Stehekin we have prioritized orchard operations, utilities to support concession operations, campground and restroom maintenance, and resource protection."
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The petition is still open -- you can sign it here: https://docs.google.com/forms/u/0/d/e/1FAIpQLSePGG87hXUNKfEFYK2pn6SHd47U...
What the NPS has done with the Stehekin Valley is shameful. A once thriving remote community has been largely bought out by the NPS, and then neglected by the NPS. The Golden West VC was once a private hotel. The infrastructure, docks, roads, and facilities have gone unrepaired.
The few remaining private businesses and residents are struggling to survive on daytrippers from Chelan and the few backpackers that wander through during the summers. There's nothing to do during winters with minimal visitation. Meanwhile, all around them, NPS owned properties, water supply, sewage, structures, and roads continue to go downhill. ANYONE owning prpoerty in the valley surely sees the writing on the wall: they're at the mercy of the park/NPS, and the NPS is failing them. Selling out to the NPS is really the only viable option. And soon enough, with the NPS's neglect, we'll all suffer from the loss.
And this story now highlights that even NCNP sees the sad future.
We need to re-imagine the NPS. Kill the NPS, and repalce it with a more responsive, responsible, and accountable agency.
I couldn't agree more. I've visited 384 units over the last ten years and each year our visits become leas enjoyable and more difficult. The park service has been shoveled billions of dollars in marquee legislation under administrations of opposite political ideologies, yet despite these opportunities there is very little to show for it. Visitor hours keep getting cut, amphitheater and ranger programs are fewer and fewer and increasingly unpublished, making trip planning impossible. They blame outside forces but refuse to do the work that almost all public agencies have had to do to modernize and adjust to the realities of the 21st century (better or for worse). The fact they bow rely on private philanthropy, via friends groups, to build core infrastructure like employee housing just demonstrates how mismanaged they've become. I've in public service almost my entire career and have never observed a more hapless and ready to blame others organization. Yes, they have a backlog and operational budget shortfalls, but they've done next to nothing to reform their practices to find any efficiencies.
The news about Stehekin doubly hurts because it one of my favorite places in the entire system, but also puts me in a firm position to say outloud something drastic needs to happen. They're badly managing their own decline and no one is to blame but themselves.
Perhaps you might reread the article. The permanent rangers assigned to that sector quit so there's no one in authroity to supervise any potential seasonal rangers who mgiht be available. And taking 18 months to get a background clearance really drives the process. Many of our parks are understaffed. Low pay coupled with high cost of living and low morale have been constant problems for years around the NPS. For starters, NPS leaders should vigorously push the OPM for wage grade increases across the board.
It doesn't take 18 months for background checks, realistically with urgency, they can be completed in 2 months or less. The original reason given for no rangers this season is slightly misleading. They have not yet even posted the permenant jobs for hire on the hiring websit. One of those 2 permanent supervisor positions hasn't been filled for a couple years now, and no job posting has been made to fill it. This is not because of the time it takes, it is a decision about funding.
Usually other people would step up to fill the necessary roles, or leadership would take on more roles to keep it going, but maybe there are other priorities keeping them from fulfilling their commitments in Stehekin.