NPS Administrative Record File Destruction

The National Park Service is legally required to maintain an administrative record for the dog management plan documenting its internal decision-making process and public input.  Documents show that Park Service staff deleted administrative record emails, used personal email accounts for agency business, and had missing administrative record files.  In addition, the agency claims that more than one key document custodian cannot recall his password for the e-mail system the agency had prior to 2013, thereby making potential critical emails “unavailable.”

Multiple GGNRA Staff Fail to Save Administrative Record Emails

June 2008: Emails in which GGNRA Chief of Natural Resources Management & Research Daphne Hatch, Howard Levitt (at that time GGNRA’s Chief, Division of Interpretation and Education), Maria Banuelos Connell state that they did not save their sent emails, which should have been saved as part of the administrative record of negotiated rulemaking for dog management.

Senior GGNRA Official Asks Staff to Destroy Emails

Sept. 2013: GGNRA Director of Communications & Partnerships Howard Levitt email to GGNRA Superintendent Frank Dean and other National Park Service staff entitled “Re comm dog”. 

“Everyone: Please delete this and the previous message. These conversations are best done by phone.”

622 Missing Administrative Record Files

Aug. 2014:  Statement of Work between GGNRA and contractor. Part of contractor’s work was to locate 622 missing project files/administrative records related to the dog management plan.