Acting National Park Service (NPS) Director David Vela is retiring, he announced Friday, leaving the job amid a lawsuit challenging the legality of his tenure in the post.
Interior Secretary David Bernhardt announced Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) acting director Margaret Everson, a former Ducks Unlimited lobbyist who also worked at Interior under the George W. Bush administration, will take over Vela’s role.
Vela is leaving in September after 30 years of service with NPS. The first Latino to rise to the highest ranks of NPS, he was well-liked by some conservation groups because of his experience within the department.
But after initially being nominated by President Trump to serve as NPS director, his nomination languished and he was never confirmed.
Vela has served as acting director of NPS through a series of temporary orders — the same method Bernhardt used to place Everson in the role — which is being challenged in a lawsuit.
“I’m a little surprised there’s been a change and concerned too that we no longer have a career National Park Service employee in place to represent the men and women of National Park Service and its values,” said Phil Francis, chair of the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks who himself worked for NPS for 41 in years before retiring.
Francis said he doesn’t know Everson but worries about the direction of NPS under the Trump administration, including the weakening of some hunting regulations, a suite of environmental regulations and efforts to give private companies more of a say in the management of parks.
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#BREAKING: National Parks chief exit sparks concerns over replacement https://t.co/5uCkjutHvG pic.twitter.com/el28g9FOi3
— The Hill (@thehill) August 7, 2020
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