CNPSR DOI Gun Impact Report

SURVEY: 77 PERCENT OF NPS, FISH & WILDLIFE EXPERTS SAY PROPOSED GUN RULE WILL HURT MANAGEMENT OF NATIONAL PARKS, WILDLIFE REFUGES

Jump in Illegal “Impulse Killing” of Wildlife Expected by 3 out of 4 National Park, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Employees and Retirees; Interior Department Found to Have Violated 2 Procedural Requirements in Rushing Through “Political” Rule.

TUSCON, AZ.///October 14, 2008/// More than three out of four (77 percent) of 1,400 present and former employees of the National Park Service (NPS) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) predict that the controversial Department of Interior (DOI) proposed rule reversing the long-standing prohibition of carrying loaded, concealed weapons in National Parks and Wildlife Refuges will have an adverse affect on the ability of NPS and USFWS employees to accomplish their mission.

This finding and others are contained in “Natural and Cultural Resource Impacts and Management Consequences of the Proposed Regulation to Authorize the Possession of Concealed Firearms in Units of the National Park & National Wildlife Refuge Systems,” a major new report the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees (CNPSR), which now has more than 670 members.

While DOI has neglected to provide an analysis of the potential impacts of its proposed rule, CNPSR surveyed in excess of 1,400 present and former employees of the National Park Service and the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service to assess the impacts that these experts foresee should the regulation go into effect. Other key results of the survey include:

75 percent feel that there will be an increase in opportunistic or impulse wildlife killings in parks and refuges; and

83 percent of survey respondents anticipated that the proposal will increase the overall level of complexity for management of their park or refuge.

In issuing the report, CNPSR emphasized that DOI violated the procedural requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in failing to adequately examine the foreseeable impacts of the relaxed gun regulation. Additionally, CNPSR asserts that DOI should have consulted the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service pursuant to ESA, as 89 threatened or endangered species inhabit the parks that would be affected by the regulation.

The new CNPSR report highlights the enforcement complexities and threats to public safety that should have been addressed in an analysis of reasonable alternatives to the rule under NEPA.

Based on the report, CNPSR is renewing its call for DOI to withdraw the proposed rule.

CNPSR Executive Council Chair Bill Wade said: “We think the proposed rule is manufactured and driven politically to fix a problem that doesn’t exist. Data show that parks are among the safest places to be in this country. Moreover, we believe it will create more problems than it can possibly fix. It is likely to alter, over time, the friendly atmosphere visitors look forward to in parks, where they go to get away from the day to day pressures and influences of their everyday lives, including worry about guns.”

For the online version of the new CNPSR report, go to http://www.npsretirees.org/cnpsr/2008/cnpsr-submits-report-potential-impacts-proposed-rule-allow-guns-national-parks on the Web.

ABOUT CNPSR

The 675 members of the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees are all former employees of the National Park Service with a combined 20,000 years of stewardship of America’ most precious natural and cultural resources. In their personal lives, CNPSR members reflect the broad spectrum of political affiliations. CNPSR members now strive to apply their credibility and integrity as they speak out for national park solutions that uphold law and apply sound science. The Coalition counts among its members: former national park directors and deputy directors, regional directors, superintendents, rangers and other career professionals who devoted an average of nearly 30 years each to protecting and interpreting America’s national parks on behalf of the public. For more information, visit the CNPSR Web site at http://www.npsretirees.org.

CONTACT: Patrick Mitchell, (703) 276-3266 or pmitchell@hastingsgroup.com.