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Tag: sexual harassment

Wife of embattled former Yosemite NP Superintendent to retire

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , 1 Comment on 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.

Patty Neubacher
Patty Neubacher. NPS photo.

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

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , 4 Comments on Former firefighter reports sexism on a Utah hotshot crew

Hazing resulted in her seeking another line of work.

After working for one season as a rookie on a 21-person firefighting hotshot crew in Utah, Melissa Lewis decided not to return the following season.

She had been excited to begin the job, and felt that having recently hiked 2,178.2 miles of the Appalachian Trail solo and stepping up her physical training would make her a good fit on the crew.

Below is an excerpt from an article she wrote for the Huffington Post, published last month:

…Unfortunately, the job was not what I hoped it would be. The work itself was much as I had imagined and trained for, but the behavior of my co-workers was not. I quickly learned that the hazing of rookies is a common practice. A male firefighter who recently had his rookie year told me that because he had been hazed, it was now his turn to haze me. Hazing lasted all season for us three “newbs.” For instance, we three were expected to rush to do the lowliest of tasks and faced verbal abuse if we were slow.

On top of that, because so many of them derided anything feminine in correlation to our work, I felt I had to prove over and over again why I, as a woman, deserved to be there. In discussing it with another firefighter, he agreed that it wasn’t fair, but he had accepted it as “just the way things are” in this male-dominated field.

As the season progressed, so did my feelings of isolation and depression. Some of my co-workers routinely made statements belittling and objectifying women in front of me. While time has erased many of the words, I haven’t forgotten how they made me feel. They further fueled my downward spiral; never have I felt so low about myself simply for being female…

I am not aware of any hazing on the two hotshot crews I was on, but have heard stories in recent years about rookies being tied up with duct or fiber tape, and “blanket parties” where the victim is covered with a blanket while he is beaten by multiple firefighters who are too cowardly to show their faces. These are assaults and could result in jail time if reported to law enforcement.

In April and May of this year there were two examples of rookie firefighters on their first or second day on the job being hospitalized with conditions that are sometimes fatal. Both of the incidents, Rhabdo and heat stroke, occurred after strenuous physical training that may have been appropriate for a seasoned, experienced hotshot firefighter, but apparently was not feasible for a person that walked in off the street.

The hazing reported by Ms. Lewis and the careless disregard for the physical safety of the two new employees that suffered very serious injuries, show what may be too common in the ranks of wildland firefighters. If the agencies want to encourage people, and especially women, to apply for jobs and eventually make a career choice of being a firefighter, these examples and the facts that were revealed in the September 22 Congressional hearing about sexual harassment and hostile work environments will make it very difficult to recruit and retain quality personnel.

Do you think any women who watched that hearing will enthusiastically apply for a job as wildland firefighter with the federal agencies?

I have always felt that the performance and behavior of a crew is a reflection of the personality and ethics of the supervisor; in the case of a hotshot crew, the Crew Superintendent. And if others higher in the chain of command look the other way and become enablers of a hostile work environment, it can build to a point where good people quit and in very rare cases, a crew is disbanded.

Rarely in the wildland fire service or land management agencies are the perpetrators or enablers held accountable for their actions. Too often they are scolded or transferred, much like the Catholic priests accused of assaults on altar boys.

During the Congressional hearing last month the National Park Service’s Deputy Director for Operations, Michael Reynolds, testified that he was not aware of anyone in his agency being fired for sexual harassment. However, a week after the hearing, the Superintendent of Yosemite National Park who was identified at the hearing as contributing to a hostile work environment (not sexual harassment), resigned after being told he was being transferred from California to Denver, Colorado.

After Fire Chief’s testimony, Yosemite’s Superintendent is forced out

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , 2 Comments on After 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.

A week after the congressional hearing that included numerous examples of a hostile work environment at Yosemite National Park in California, the Superintendent of the park has been forced out of the park.

According to an email Superintendent Don Neubacher sent to all employees in the park at about 7 p.m. on September 28, during 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 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 it was revealed that at least 20 employees in Yosemite described the park as a hostile work environment as a result of the behavior and conduct of the park Superintendent.

Kelly Martin, the Chief of Fire and Aviation Management at Yosemite, was one of two current National Park Service employees categorized as whistleblowers that testified in the hearing before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The topic of the hearing was “misconduct and mismanagement in the National Park Service”.

She described three of her experiences with sexual harassment that occurred in the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service before she worked at Yosemite. In her oral and written testimony she also provided examples of incidents at Yosemite in which Superintendent Neubacher created or contributed to a hostile work environment.

We interviewed Chief Martin on September 30, and she wanted to make it clear that she was speaking a private citizen, was not a spokesperson for the NPS, and is not aware of any sexual harassment claims at Yosemite. She said that after the hearing some headlines reported sexual harassment at Yosemite, but the only allegations that came up in the hearing about Yosemite were regarding a hostile work environment. However several examples of sexual harassment were alleged at Yellowstone and Grand Canyon National Parks.

She said that dozens of people have reached out to her after learning what she did before Congress.

We asked her about what else has happened since her testimony:

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.

There are a lot of women, and men too, that sent me emails thanking me for being so brave in coming forward addressing these issues. Women in particular … have not felt they’ve been able to come forward.

Nationwide people from all agencies, people I don’t even know, were responding, thanking me for my testimony. They have experienced very similar situations but never had the opportunity or the feeling that they could have come forward without fear of retaliation.

Hopefully it will spur some additional conversations with folks that watch your blog. Have we created hostile environments for women and minorities in our wildland fire communities? What are some good examples of some crews that are really integrated and have included women in their organization, and how difficult is it for them to get assignments and work their way up through the ranks? There’s the potential for a lot of really good topics out there. I think you’re the one to help with that.

National Park Service whistleblowers testify to Congress about sexual harassment

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , 10 Comments on National 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.

****

(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.

Continue reading “National Park Service whistleblowers testify to Congress about sexual harassment”

Yosemite NP Fire Chief to testify before congressional committee

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags

A House of Representatives committee will hear testimony on Thursday September 22 from Kelly Martin, Yosemite National Park’s Chief of Fire and Aviation Management. The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform’s stated purpose is to look further into cases of sexual harassment and misconduct in light of new reports about what they call serious wrongdoing.

Generally this committee has been very critical of the administration over a range of topics.

Earlier this year we wrote about an article in the Huffington Post in which Kathryn Joyce described what appeared to be a stunning culture of serious sexual harassment being virtually tolerated in some locations within the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service. Ms. 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.

In a description of the hearing on the Committee’s web site, they wrote:

In many cases, managers in senior leadership positions were not held accountable for their actions and were able to move laterally or retire to escape disciplinary action. Since these reports have become public, additional allegations of serious harassment and misconduct have to come to light at some of the country’s most prominent national parks.

Two other National Park Service employees will also be testifying on Thursday, Michael Reynolds, the NPS Deputy Director for Operations, and Brian Healy, Fisheries Program Manager at Grand Canyon National Park.

Chief Martin’s prepared testimony has not yet been made public.

The hearing is scheduled for Thursday at 1 p.m. EDT in room 2154 of the Rayburn House Office Building. It should be available on a live stream on the Committee’s website.

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Bill.

Huffington Post reports on sexual harassment in National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags 1 Comment on Huffington Post reports on sexual harassment in National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service

Above: South Kaibab Trail in the Grand Canyon – Panorama Point. NPS photo by Michael Quinn

The Huffington Post in a lengthy article by Kathryn Joyce describes what appears to be a stunning culture of serious sexual harassment being virtually tolerated in some locations within the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service. Ms. Joyce describes 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.

There is no accusation that this atmosphere exists throughout the USFS and NPS, but it is disturbing that so many examples are given where high level management made very poor choices, allowing the unacceptable actions to continue and later affect more employees.

An illustration of the abuse is how Cheyenne Szydlo was treated on a Colorado River trip in Grand Canyon National Park. As a wildlife biologist she had to be there to hunt for the Southwestern willow flycatcher, a tiny endangered songbird that historically had nested on the river but hadn’t been seen in three years. Her supervisor believed the bird was locally extinct. It was just Ms. Szydlo and the boatman, a male National Park Service employee, at the bottom of the canyon for nine days, with no way to escape and no cell phone coverage. Even if she hiked a mile up to the canyon rim she would be in the middle of the desert with little if any food or water. The sexual harassment she endured from the boatman, explained in detail in the article, was harrowing and got worse every day.

Ms. Szydlo was not the only victim while working along the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon.

…“What happened to [Lynn] was the most horrifying thing I’d ever seen,” said Chelly Kearney, who had made her own efforts to draw attention to the treatment of women on the river. About a year after she resigned in 2012, she wrote a 29-page letter to Grand Canyon Chief Ranger Bill Wright documenting multiple instances of harassment, assault and retaliation and describing a culture that protected male harassers while allowing victims to be targeted for retaliation. The Park Service requested a formal EEO investigation, but the final report was never distributed beyond the uppermost level of park management and no disciplinary actions were taken.

Following Lynn and Anne’s dismissals, Kearney tried again. She forwarded her letter to [Grand Canyon National Park Superintendent David] Uberuaga, writing that she had witnessed a “disturbing and pervasive level of hatred” toward Anne and her boss and that Anne should be protected by federal whistle-blower laws. She received a brief response from Uberuaga thanking her for her concern…

The stories in the article are horrifying — that federal employees on, and off the job, could be so mistreated by their fellow workers. But even worse, in too many cases nothing significant was done to curtail the harassment. Some victims were fired for reporting it, or had to resign in order get away from an untenable or unsafe situation.

Finally the NPS initiated a high level investigation that lasted for a year and a half. This occurred only after the complaints got the attention of Sally Jewell, the Secretary of the Interior, one level below the President. Twelve women wrote to her requesting a formal inquiry into the “pervasive culture of discrimination, retaliation, and a sexually hostile work environment” in the River District of Grand Canyon National Park.

This January the Department of the Interior’s Office of Inspector General announced that it had “found evidence of a long-term pattern of sexual harassment and hostile work environment” in the Grand Canyon’s River District.

This is not, of course, an indictment of the entire NPS or USFS organizations. At most locations, we hope, the culture does not permit harassment. Or if it is reported, it is dealt with immediately and fairly. But obviously, as reported by Ms. Joyce, there is still work left to do.

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Jim.