TUSCON, Ariz.–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.
However, participants in the survey don’t provide documentation to back up those points.
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.
Based on the report, CNPSR is renewing its call for DOI to withdraw the proposed rule.
For the online version of the new CNPSR report, go to www.NPSRetirees.org on the web.
