National Park Service and Interior Department staff have reportedly been instructed not to confirm deaths or share details about severe injuries that occur in national parks directly to the public, a deviation from previous policy.
An internal memo sent in December, seen by the Washington Post, prohibits Interior Department employees or park staff from notifying the public about deaths or communicating details with members of the media.
Now, only “appropriate authorities” may confirm a death, resulting in some information, such as details about three heat-related deaths in the Grand Canyon, being released days after the incidents. The memo did not indicate which authorities were being referred to, the Post reported.
This past weekend, rumors also swirled online about a 22-year-old falling to his death at Yosemite National Park – something the National Park Service only confirmed to news outlet SFGate days later.
On average, 358 people die every year in national parks, according to data collected by the Park Service. Though it represents a small fraction of the millions of visitors to national parks, seven former employees told the Post the new memo splits from a previous directive to disclose as much information as possible quickly to avoid public speculation or panic.
A spokesperson for the Interior Department called the Washington Post’s reporting “false” and said it “reflects a significant mischaracterization of the Department’s guidance.”
“Interior remains committed to providing timely and accurate information while ensuring families are notified first. The guidance was developed to create a more consistent approach to incident communications across the Department and is not intended to conceal fatalities or delay information,” the spokesperson said.
The Interior Department said it continues to provide public safety information, statements, news releases and incident updates while also being mindful of the investigative process, privacy concerns, next-of-kin notifications and requests from family members not to release identifying information.
The reported change in policy comes after news outlets reported a string of deadly incidents at national parks over the last month. In addition to the three heat-related deaths in the Grand Canyon and a 22-year-old falling at Yosemite, a local news outlet reported a 17-year-old drowned in a river at Sequoia National Park on June 20.
The Interior Department confirmed those deaths to The Independent Thursday.
Dan Wenk, a former longtime National Park Service employee who served as superintendent of Yellowstone, told the Washington Post that the old process “was always to get people as much information as you could give them as soon as possible around an incident.”
Before the policy change, the Park Service advised parks to create their own crisis communications via a template. One version of the template, seen by the Post, advised parks to follow a “maximum disclosure, minimum delay” protocol to avoid public speculation or panic.
Bill Wade, the executive director of the National Association of Park Rangers and former superintendent of Shenandoah National Park, told the Post that they would confirm incidents such as a fatal fall or a drowning quickly.
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