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Joint Letter to U.S. Senators
Association of National
Park Rangers
25958 Genesee Trail Road, PMB 222
Golden, CO 80401
Coalition of National Park Service Retirees
5625 N. Wilmot Rd.
Tucson, AZ 85750
U.S. Park Rangers Lodge, Fraternal Order of Police
P.O. Box 1481
Twain Harte, Ca. 95383
February 1, 2008
Dear Senator:
We respectfully request that you vote NO on an amendment
(#3967) that Senator Tom Coburn will offer to S.2483. His
amendment would prohibit the Secretary of Interior from
enforcing regulations currently in place that require gun owners
to have their guns unloaded and stored while visiting most units
of the National Park System.
The current regulation simply does not prohibit guns in the
parks as some people evidently believe. According to 36 CFR 2.4
(a)(2), weapons “may be possessed” so long as they are “rendered
temporarily inoperable or are packed, cased or stored in a
manner that will prevent their ready use.” This sensible
regulation was put in place both to prevent the poaching of
wildlife and to ensure visitor safety.
This amendment could hamper efforts by park rangers to halt
poaching, a chronic problem in many national park units
throughout the country that is growing because of an increase in
the illegal international animal parts trade. According to the
National Park Service, poaching “is suspected to be a factor in
the decline of at least 29 species of wildlife and could cause
the extirpation of 19 species from the parks.” The provisions
contained within 36 CFR 2.4 have proven essential to law
enforcement officers who patrol the boundaries of national parks
looking for poachers who illegally take wildlife enjoyed by all
people within the parks.
We do agree that the majority of gun owners coming into parks
would never use their guns to illegally kill or injure wildlife.
We also recognize that a small number of gun owners will
illegally use their guns to kill or injure wildlife no matter
what the regulations or laws concerning guns in parks are.
Senator Coburn’s amendment will make it more difficult to
apprehend these individuals because possession and display of a
weapon would no longer be probable cause to initiate a search
for evidence of wildlife or wildlife parts. We also believe that
there are a significant number of gun owners that fall in the
middle of the two groups mentioned above. They might be tempted
into an illegal act if the right opportunity in parks presents
itself. Often such illegal acts of opportunity require two
elements―desirable wildlife to be present, and a
readily-accessible, loaded firearm. When either of these two
elements is removed from the equation it dramatically reduces
the chances that park wildlife will be harmed.
In our view, Senator Coburn’s amendment will make poaching in
parks even more prevalent than it already is, thus reducing the
opportunity for children, families, and Americans from all walks
of life to easily view wildlife that so many parks provide.
Moreover, wildlife will not remain easily viewable when it is
being shot at. If easily-viewable wildlife becomes scarce in
parks like Yellowstone, Great Smoky Mountains, Grand Canyon,
Rocky Mountain, Katmai, Mount Rainier, and others it will have
economic impacts on the gateway communities and local residents
whose livelihoods depend in part or in whole on the visitors
that come to see park wildlife.
Senator Coburn’s amendment could dramatically degrade the
experience of park visitors and put their safety at risk if
units of the National Park System were compelled to follow state
gun laws. For example, since Wyoming has limited gun
restrictions, visitors could see persons with semi-automatic
weapons attending campground programs, hiking down park trails
or picnicking along park shorelines at Yellowstone and Grand
Teton National Parks. Moreover, many rangers can recite stories
about incidents where the risk to other visitors – as well as to
the ranger – would have been exacerbated if a gun had been
readily-accessible. This amendment would compromise the safe
atmosphere that is valued by Americans and expected by
international tourists traveling to the United States.
There is simply no legitimate or substantive reason for a
thoughtful sportsman or gun owner to carry a loaded gun in a
national park unless that park permits hunting. The requirement
that guns in parks are unloaded and put away is a reasonable and
limited restriction to facilitate legitimate purposes—the
protection of precious park resources and safety of visitors.
We urge you to protect park wildlife and visitors by voting
“No” on Senator Coburn’s amendment.
Sincerely,
/s/
Scot McElveen, President
Association of National Park Rangers
/s/
J. W. “Bill” Wade, Chair, Executive Council
Coalition of National Park Service Retirees
/s/
John Waterman, President
U.S. Park Rangers Lodge, Fraternal Order of Police
About the Association of National Park Rangers:
ANPR is the responsible and credible voice of National Park
Service workers, and we are passionate about comprehensive
protective stewardship of the national parks. We are dedicated
to the preservation and enhancement of a vital National Park
System and a vibrant National Park Service, and we defend and
promote the stewardship of the vital natural, cultural and
caretaker resources of the national parks through education,
training, advocacy and public information. ANPR has 1,100
members.
About the Coalition of National Park Retirees:
The 640 members of the Coalition of National Park Service
Retirees are all former employees of the National Park Service
with a combined 19,000 years of stewardship of America’ most
significant natural and cultural resources. In their personal
lives, CNPSR members reflect the broad spectrum of political
affiliations. CNPSR members now strive to apply their
experience, credibility and integrity as they speak out for
national park and program solutions that uphold law and apply
the results of sound scientific research. They also support the
mission of the National Park Service through public education.
The Coalition counts among its members: former National Park
Service directors and deputy directors, regional directors,
superintendents, rangers and other career professionals who
devoted an average of nearly 30 years each to protecting and
interpreting America’s national parks on behalf of the public.
About the U.S. Park Rangers Lodge of the Fraternal Order of
Police:
The U.S. Park Rangers Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police was
organized to protect and advance the professional needs of
commissioned law enforcement rangers while providing the
camaraderie and social support system for which the FOP has been
famous for since 1917. The lodge is run by rangers to benefit
rangers. The U.S. Park Ranger Lodge has been in the forefront
fighting to improve the professional lives of commissioned
rangers since 1988.
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