Nearly 100 pages of revisions are proposed for the rulebook guiding the National Parks System and its 388 sites. The draft was completed in secret by Paul Hoffman, deputy assistant secretary of the Department of Interior.

Some of the key points of the proposed revision are:

• A change in the primary mission of the NPS, putting an emphasis on use and limiting the agency’s powers to preserve natural landscapes, wildlife and historic objects

• The ability for superintendents to prevent damage to park resources only when it is deemed “irreversible”

• The elimination of virtually all limits on motorized access to national parks, both on and off roads and trails.

• The radical expansion of snowmobile use inside national parks where it is appropriate

• The elevation of grazing and mining to acceptable “park purposes”

• The support and encouragement of scenic tour flights over all national parks

• The subordination of national parks to the governments of individual cities and states.

A complete copy of the Hoffman draft is available at www.npsretirees.org.

-Will Sands