Diversity and inclusiveness goals for next 100 years of National Park Service

The National Park Service, in response to allegations of long-standing abuse, now has 'zero tolerance' toward sexual harassment and is establishing an anonymous hotline to protect employees who come forward as whistleblowers, agency Director Jonathan Jarvis said at a National Press Club luncheon Aug. 1.

The move is aligned with the park service's goals of achieving "justice, respect and truth" through the use of federal parks and public land, which call us to "live up to the values of our nation," Jarvis said.

Currently celebrating its centennial year, the NPS moves into its next century on Aug. 25, 2016, with a vision of expanding the way place tells the diverse American story.

"We serve not only as stewards of the nation's greatest landscapes but also as keepers of its cultural memory," said Jarvis, who's been with the agency for 40 years. "And that is recognizing the American narrative is not one narrative, but many, and needs telling that story in its entirety."

Shortly after taking the helm in 2009, Jarvis said he recognized parks overlooked key aspects of American history and recommended to President Barack Obama the designation of new historical landmarks.

Since then, nine new monuments have been created, he said. Among them are federal designations recognizing the Japanese internment during World War II; labor leader Cesar Chavez; the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad; Buffalo Soldier Colonel Charles Young; and the 1969 raid against the LGBTQ community at the Stonewall in Greenwich Village.

The new monuments "represent people who believed in the aspirations of our country and the places where they acted upon their faith, their spirit, and their convictions," Jarvis said. Their stories "will inspire future generations carrying on the message that the blessings of liberty must be defended from all threats whether they are external or from within."

The sentiment sums up the vision and goal for the agency's centennial year: Passing the park system to the next generations, who will find more comprehensive story-telling of our nation's history through place. Jarvis envisions a system of parks, public land and monuments people can visit and "gain a clearer view of our world."

These goals come amid turbulent times, with sexual harassment allegations, a $12-billion maintenance backlog, a more partisan Congressional approach to funding than ever before, and pressure to cede public land to Western states, which some say would open them up to mining and drilling. While the park service has always had corporate support and has increased its philanthropic appeals, Jarvis said, he was clear the federal government was better positioned to maintain the federal park system.

He quoted the park service's first director, Stephen Mathers, who said, "Unless we can protect the areas currently held with a separate government agency, we may lose them to selfish interests."

The National Park Service has 412 areas covering 84 million acres, and employs 22,000 people, with a budget of more than $3.6 billion.

Editor's note: A previous version of this story incorrectly identified 1929, not 1969, as the year of the Stonewall raid/riots. That has been corrected.