Dear Director Sams,
The National Park Service is America’s storyteller. Its more than 420 sites represent our history from the pueblos at Mesa Verde to Gettysburg’s battlefields to the halls of the Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument and includes stories of our country’s diversity, from Latino, LGBTQ, Asian, Indigenous and Pacific Islander culture and events. These stories advance the mission of the National Park Service as the steward of our country’s history.
National Park Service staff provide the research, exhibits, interpretation, ranger talks and expertise that give visitors deeper context for important places and events. Through their work, visitors learn about the people who shaped a place and make personal connections with our shared natural and cultural history.
It’s because of these connections – of people to place to story – that it is important for the National Park Service and staff to be a part of surrounding communities and participate in community events.
NPS staff should be able to show up in park communities and represent the system of special places they have dedicated their careers to preserving. Their work to preserve goes beyond park boundaries. It extends to helping everyone to feel connected and welcomed to enjoy our natural and cultural treasures, whether visitors come to parks or NPS staff go into community.
I ask NPS to support a policy that allows its staff to participate in community events while in uniform when those events are tied to the mission of the National Park Service, highlight the stories parks protect, provide an opportunity to recruit a broad and diverse workforce or deepen the relationships with a community.
