Secretary Kempthorne made it a point to state that at a previous meeting, NPCA promised him that their organization would stand up and applaud if the Bush Administration would be able to raise an additional $250 million for our parks. Kempthorne then countered that the Bush Administration was developing an increased budget inititiative for FY’08 that would increase park funding by $258 million.

During last night’s meeting, the educational value of national parks and the educational role of the national park ranger was given a high priority by many speakers, and this value was acknowledged by those in sitting in front of the room who were charged with doing the “listening.” The principal of the Gatlinburg elementary school was in attendance. He and a group of his students had been on a hike earlier in the day with Sec. Kempthorne. They were in attendance to support the educational values of the park and the importance of the park for their school curriculum.

Because the format of this meeting was organized for a steady sequence of input from registered participants to give 2 minutes of oral comment, there was not opportunity for open discussion nor debale of details of the president’s 2008 budget initiative, nor was their an opportunity for debate or elaboration on specific issues. The attendees were encouraged to follow-up with written comments and to use the NPS web site reserved for online comment at www.nps.gov/2016.

The overall atmosphere of this meeting was definitely upbeat and a most definite improvement over what I witnessed one year ago in Sevierville, TN when I attended an ill-fated and poorly organized NPS “listening session” that was intended to introduce the public to the details of the proposed draft re-write of the NPS Management Policy Guidelines. That meeting was intended for the NPS to do the talking and for the public to do the listening. It didn’t go over very well at all.

Surprisingly, at last night’s meeting, I did not hear much from pro-development interests, although there were many in attendance representing the interests of local gateway communities. A few mentioned the historic value of the controversial North Shore Road on the North Carolina side of the park and were long-time supporters for its completion. Lynn Faust of Knoxville, TN made an impassioned plea for the preservation/restoration of the historic developments and lodge inside the park at Elkmont, including the need to restore the now demolished Wonderland Hotel.

One mountain biker made a plea for more mountain bike access inside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. He received a direct acknowledgement from Sec. Kempthorne that President Bush himself is a mountain biker and would be sympathetic to his request. The mountain biker claimed to be a conservationist and preservationist, and often performs volunteer trail maintenance when riding on trails.

There were at least two active members of the CNPSR present, Warren Bielenberg, and myself. Warren stated that without more permanent NPS positions, increasing park staffing through additional volunteers and more seasonals amounts to even more work for existing staff who must recruit, train, and supervise a continually changing cadre of part-time personnel.  Warren said that this would be most definitely the case with the proposed increase of 300 seasonals.

Secretary Kempthorne said that the proposed increase was not 300 additional seasonals but 3000. Kempthorne promised that increases would also occur among NPS permanent positions as well.

I was speaker number 25. I found myself totally unprepared to deliver my miriad of thoughts within a 2 minute time period. In my preparations to attend this meeting, I had no idea what was going to be the operational format for public input. So, when called to the mike, I had to think very fast and prioritize my comments, taking into consideration all that was said by the 24 who spoke before me.

I basically made a plea for the US Government to support basic park operations directly and that parks should not have to rely on private funding to operate. After all, the US Natonal Parks are for all Americans.

I voiced my concern that when visiting parks in recent times, it is very rare to find a national park ranger. We see mostly volunteers and natural history association employees in our park visitor centers. As a park visitor, we seldom see anyone in the park wearing the uniform of a real ranger, unless it happens to be a law enforcement ranger inside a prowl car.

I made a plea for the protection of “the other half of the park,” and mentioned the importance of the NPS taking a leadership role in promoting the aethetic awareness and cultural values of a dark and starry night. I made a brief plea for consideration of an NPS Ranger Reserve composed of past NPS employees who are available and would eagerly serve the NPS in times of special need, if asked.

As I talked, I observed Mary taking notes. As I finished, I was amazed at how stressful and difficult it was to make an articulate presentation in just a 2 minute period of time.

Park staff, Director Bomar, and Secretary Kempthorne remained in the room for almost an hour after the conclusion of the listening session. In all, 40 individuals had spoken, and no additional persons came forward at the conclusion of nearly 2 hours of public commentary.