Senator: “Making sure we have good policies in place doesn’t make a difference on the ground unless and until that culture is changed.”
Continue readingOIG reports on investigations of sexual harassment in Forest Service
The OIG recommended that only contractor investigators or investigators from other Federal agencies be used for these complaints
Continue readingAllegations of sexual misconduct in the Forest Service go all the way to the top
An “independent investigator” is looking into complaints against Chief Tony Tooke
Continue readingPBS reports on sexual harassment among firefighters in the U.S. Forest Service
In interviews, 34 women, current and former U.S. Forest Service employees, described a workplace that is hostile to female employees
Continue readingCongress holds another hearing about sexual harassment of firefighters
Congressional and Inspector General investigations into allegations of sexual harassment of federal firefighters are becoming frequent. After two hearings before the Full House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform about sexual misconduct in the National Park Service, a number of employees of the U.S. Forest Service came forward with similar stories.
On December 1 the committee held another hearing “to address misconduct, sexual harassment, and disparate treatment of women within the U.S. Forest Service”, and, “to examine the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s management of its Office of Civil Rights and handling of Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) complaints.”
One of the witnesses to testify was Denice Rice, a Fire Prevention Technician on the Eldorado National Forest at El Dorado, California.
She told a horrifying story of being harassed for years by her supervisor and then being victimized again with reprisals. Here are some excerpts from her written testimony:
…From 2009 through 2011 my second line supervisor repeatedly sexually harassed me and he assaulted me in 2011. I filed a complaint and the instant I filed everything changed. Management removed all of my supervisory responsibilities, moved me from my location, and isolated me. This adverse action resulted in a prohibited personnel practice when they removed my supervisory responsibilities that were in my position description.
[—]
Numerous investigations were held. There was an OIG investigation, with interviews from multiple investigators and I had to relive the situation over and over. One of the investigators provided specific details to my peers on what the second line supervisor did to me, including sexual assault. I lost my reputation and my dignity when they made the situation public. My family life was affected. My husband felt helpless because he wasn’t allowed to protect me. My life was a living hell. I was diagnosed with PTSD.
[—]
After the OIG investigation and the Rangers read everything in the report, again violating my confidentiality, the decision was made to terminate him. But before they gave him the proposed removal letter, the Forest Supervisor took him out for coffee to give him advance notice that he was going to be fired. They let him quickly retire with no mark on his record whatsoever.
After his retirement he applied for and was hired on a California Incident Management Team. This put me in a situation where we could both be assigned to the same fire incident. It also allowed him to continue working with women.
[—]
In 2016 the fire organization brought this predator back to the Eldorado forest specifically to give a motivational speech to the Hotshots. So they are still supporting him while I have continued to be harassed by the same individuals that protected him before he left. I have had to file additional reprisal complaints.
The video of the hearing is below. It starts at about 8:30.
Members of Congress and the Washington Post look into sexual harassment in the U.S. Forest Service and other agencies
Since at least 1972 there have been investigations, lawsuits, and consent decrees that were spawned from sexual misconduct and discrimination against women in the U.S. Forest Service. A significant portion of it originated within the fire management organization. In spite of the attention this issue draws at somewhat regular intervals it is difficult to detect a great deal of long term improvement.
But it is not confined to the USFS. In a September 22 hearing before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, two National Park Service employees testified as “whistleblowers”, possibly putting their careers in jeopardy and risking retaliation as they described allegations of sexual harassment and a lack of accountability.
One of them was Kelly Martin, Yosemite National Park’s Chief of Fire and Aviation Management, who has had a 32-year career with the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service. She described a hostile work environment in Yosemite and the sexual harassment she was exposed to while working for the USFS. Six days later the Superintendent at Yosemite announced his retirement.
Members of that House Committee and other Senators and Congresspersons, a total of 13, signed a letter on November 10 requesting that Phyllis K. Fong, the Department of Agriculture’s Inspector General, conduct an audit of the USFS to find out if progress has been made after allegations surfaced in 2014 of “sexual misconduct and retaliation in Region 5 [California] of the FS”. At that time the IG investigated and found that:
The Forest Service is making progress and is focused on improving the environment of its workplace.
Below is an excerpt from the November 10 letter:
In addition, given the recent findings of rampant sexual harassment in the Department of the Interior National Park Service, now is an appropriate time to consider whether the Forest Service’s improvements have succeeded in improving the workplace environment. If the new procedures implemented by the FS have been successful, they may serve as a model for other federal agencies. If the new procedures have not been successful, it is critical that they be modified as soon as possible.
In March of this year the Huffington Post published a stunning article outlining a culture of sexual harassment at Grand Canyon National Park, as well as other examples in the USFS. The author, Kathryn Joyce, described numerous disturbing examples of female employees, including a wildland firefighter, being aggressively degraded and humiliated with little if any repercussions for the assailant. In some cases the victims were fired.
And yesterday, November 20, Darryl Fears of the Washington Post wrote about similar difficulties female firefighters in the federal government and other organizations are faced with. The author quotes several women, including Katie Sauerbrey of the Nature Conservancy who embeds with the Forest Service and the National Park Service when needed:
I know a lot of women who have left fire because they did not feel supported or felt there was no room for them to grow. It’s sad for me to see women who have that desire who don’t continue because of the culture. It’s hard to describe the passion people have for this job. There’s no other job I’d rather be in.
In the article Mr. Fears writes about one bright spot or ray of hope — WTREX, or Women-in-Fire Training Exchange, a program for female firefighters.
And there is at least one other encouraging sign. Ms. Martin, the Chief of Fire and Aviation Management at Yosemite who testified before the House Committee, told Wildfire Today on September 30, two days after the Park’s Superintendent announced his retirement:
The thing that is surprising is that post my testimony our Regional and National offices, our leadership in the Park Service, is taking the allegations of the hostile work environment complaints seriously. They have also dispatched the Department of the Interior’s Office of Inspector General to complete additional interviews. It sounds as if, I don’t know this for sure, that additional people are willing to come forward based upon my testimony, but they still fear retaliation.
The Washington Post article includes an excellent video in which several women firefighters describe their experiences. Below is a screen grab from the video.
Wife of embattled former Yosemite NP Superintendent to retire
Another domino has fallen in the Yosemite National Park scandal. The wife of former Park Superintendent Don Neubacher announced her retirement Sunday in an email to employees. Patty Neubacher, one of three Deputy Regional Directors for the National Park Service’s Pacific West Region, said she will be retiring on November 1.
During a September 22 congressional hearing it was revealed that 20 employees in Yosemite described the park as a hostile work environment as a result of the behavior and conduct of the park Superintendent, Mr. Neubacher. Some employees alleged that Ms. Neubacher had used her position to protect the superintendent, who is supervised by the Pacific West Regional office.
On September 28 Mr. Neubacher sent an email message to all employees in the park announcing his retirement. He explained that in a discussion with the Regional Director “it was determined that new leadership was needed” in the park. He said he was offered a position in Denver serving as a “Senior Advisor to Michael Reynolds, Deputy Director for the National Park Service”, but that since his home was in California he opted to retire. He will be on leave until the retirement is effective November 1, 2016 — the same date his wife’s retirement will take effect.
Ms. Neubacher’s October 2 email read in part:
“This is not the timing that I’d ever envisioned for retiring, but sometimes life takes an abrupt turn.”
A person with inside knowledge of the situation at Yosemite National Park told us that within the next few weeks there will be more revelations about misconduct at the park.
Former firefighter reports sexism on a Utah hotshot crew
Hazing resulted in her seeking another line of work.
Continue readingAfter Fire Chief’s testimony, Yosemite’s Superintendent is forced out
He was given the option of transferring from Yosemite National Park to Denver, but decided to retire.
Continue readingNational Park Service whistleblowers testify to Congress about sexual harassment
(UPDATE at 5:20 p.m. MDT September 29, 2016)
At about 7 p.m. on September 28 Don Neubacher, the Superintendent at Yosemite National Park in California, sent an email message to all employees in the park announcing his retirement. He explained that in a discussion with the Regional Director “it was determined that new leadership was needed” in the park. He said he was offered a position in Denver serving as a “Senior Advisor to Michael Reynolds, Deputy Director for the National Park Service”, but that since his home was in California he opted to retire. He will be on leave until the retirement is effective on November 1, 2016.
During the September 22 Congressional hearing described below it was revealed that 20 employees in Yosemite described the park as a hostile work environment as a result of the behavior and conduct of the park Superintendent.
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(Originally published at 5:24 p.m. MDT, September 22, 2016)
Thursday’s hearing before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform was at times captivating. During the 2 hours and 17 minute hearing two current National Park Service employees testified as “whistleblowers”, possibly putting their careers in jeopardy and risking retaliation as they described allegations of sexual harassment and a lack of accountability.
The statements and questions from the committee members exhibited very little partisanship. Many of them seemed genuinely shocked and deeply troubled at the numerous examples of sexual harassment that came to light during the session. They frequently thanked the two NPS employees for coming forward and vowed that the committee would be watching closely for any retribution against the whistleblowers.
Four National Park Service units were discussed in regards to sexual harassment incidents: Yellowstone National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, Yosemite National Park, and Cape Canaveral National Seashore.
Kelly Martin, Yosemite National Park’s Chief of Fire and Aviation Management, has had a 32-year career with the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service. For the last 10 years she has served as the Chief of Fire and Aviation Management in the park. She described “..a hostile work environment in Yosemite where dozens of individuals have come forward with personal statements of demoralizing behavior to include acts of bullying, gender bias, and favoritism.”
Ms. Martin was asked to describe three of her experiences with sexual harassment that occurred before she worked at Yosemite.
I was a victim of a peeping tom at the Grand Canyon in 1987. It was a very difficult and painful experience for me. I reported it to two supervisors immediately that first day that I was able to positively identify a park ranger in uniform that was peering through my bathroom window. I had reported it to two supervisors. Visibly shaken, it was very, very difficult for me to do.
She said she was presented with options: do nothing, file a criminal complaint, file an Equal Employment Opportunity complaint, or agree to a meeting with the two supervisors and the Park Ranger. She chose the meeting. She said she didn’t want to be labeled a troublemaker. The Park Ranger continued his career and recently retired as a Deputy Superintendent at a park.
Representative Jason Chaffetx, Chair of the committee, added that the park ranger was arrested in 2000 for peeping at naked women at a YMCA. In 2001 he was investigated for suspicious behavior or voyeurism behavior near a building. He recently retired as a Deputy Park Superintendent.
In another incident at Grand Canyon National Park Ms. Martin said another employee took photos of her and put them above the visor in his vehicle and told others about the photo. In her office at the Grand Canyon he tried to kiss her, but she pushed him away. Later he applied for the job of Chief of Fire and Aviation at the Grand Canyon. She spoke to the Deputy Superintendent about this incident and that person was not selected for the job.
In a third situation that occurred at a meeting while working in fire management for the USFS, one of her supervisors ran his fingers through her hair. She talked to her immediate supervisor about it, but did not pursue it further, in order to preserve her career. When she reported it to upper management, she was told “It’s his word against yours”. This led her to believe, she said, “There was a culture of tolerance and acceptance of this kind of behavior in her work force… I honestly felt the preservation of my career and the status with my peers was more important than filing a complaint.”
Referring to an investigation of sexual harassment at Yosemite, Chairman Chaffetz said: “It is our understanding that of the 21 people the investigators interviewed, every single one of them, with one exception, described Yosemite as a hostile work environment as a result of the behavior and conduct of the park Superintendent.”
The person that did not agree with that assessment, Chairman Chaffetz said, was the Superintendent.