Nine of the eleven members of the National Park System Advisory Board [NPSAB] resigned on January 15th, citing Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke’s refusal to meet with the board. In a public letter of resignation, former Alaska Governor Tony Knowles argued that the Advisory Board had “stood by” for the opportunity to discuss issues such as climate change, wildlife preservation and the need for increased scientific research with Secretary Zinke, but had been ignored for over a year.
Board members Gretchen Long, Paul Bardacke, Carolyn Finney, Judy Burke, Stephen Pitti, Milton Chen, Belinda Faustinos and Margaret Wheatley also signed Knowles’s letter, with fellow member Carolyn Hessler Radelet adding her name on January 17.
