A former Yosemite National Park superintendent accused of overseeing a hostile, biased work environment had a brusk management style that "may have contributed to what some Yosemite employees perceived as inappropriate behavior," according to the Interior Department's Office of Inspector General.

The report, completed March 8 and publicly released Monday, into Don Neubacher's behavior somewhat undercut the harsh portrayal of his management made by U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, during a House Oversight Committee hearing last September into allegations of sexual harassment within the National Park Service.

"It's our understanding, of the 21 individuals interviewed, every single one of them with one exception, described Yosemite as a hostile work environment, as a result of the behavior and conduct of the park's superintendent. Why isn't there immediate relief?" Rep. Chaffez, who chairs the committee, asked Mike Reynolds, at the time the Park Service's deputy director called to explain to the committee how misconduct and mismanagement in the agency was being addressed.

But in its report, the OIG stated that 42 of the 71 employees they interviewed "spoke highly of (Mr. Neubacher) as a manager. "

"(M)any of the remaining interviewees said that he sometimes communicated poorly; that he could be dismissive, abrupt, or overly critical; and that he would often publicly criticize and undermine employees after he lost confidence in them," the 24-page report went on. "Some felt the official’s treatment of them was personal or motivated by factors such as gender bias, while others accepted his behavior and did not believe he was aware of it."

Mr. Neubacher retired from the Park Service last September shortly after the House hearing, saying he didn't want to leave the agency "but want to do what's best for Yosemite National Park. Our employees, our park, and our partners are some of the best in the nation."

The OIG report detailed many diverging views, recollections, and interpretations among both managers and employees. 

One management team member said that the senior official would occasionally direct comments toward her such as “That’s a really stupid idea” or “Are you going to present that dopey idea?” She said that he would also use words such as “bozo,” “idiot,” “failure,” and “incompetent” when referencing her work. She emphasized that these terms were directed at her work, not at her personally.

Similarly, a former Yosemite manager said that during a management team meeting, the senior official responded to a comment she made by saying either “You are stupid” or “Your idea was stupid.” She could not remember his exact words, but she perceived the comment to mean that he thought she was stupid.

Another former employee described the senior official as an “intense micromanager” who had too much control over the management team. When asked to provide the most egregious example of the senior official’s hostile management style, she told us that when she worked for one of Yosemite’s female management team members, the senior official would frequentlybypass her supervisor and contact the employee herself directly to discuss projects. She said the senior official was overly invested in certain projects and would micromanage the details, which demoralized her supervisor. She said the senior official frequently broke the chain of command and contacted subordinates as a way to avoid conflict with supervisors.

Mr. Neubacher dismissed complaints that he harassed employees or created a hostile workplace. Rather, he told the investigators, "he was very busy, and that if he seemed dismissive, it was not intentional. 'At Yosemite, you work at a fast pace,' he said, 'and I do think some people want to ponder things for a long time, which we don’t have time for.'"

Mr. Neubacher also said that he "never heard any feedback from any employee regarding his demeanor," the report stated. The former superintendent followed up his interview with the OIG with a letter noting that there were nearly 900 Park Service employees in Yosemite, and so the fact that no employee ever approached him about his management style "seems important to mention.” 

Through all their interviews, the report noted, the OIG investigators "confirmed that none of the employees who felt belittled by the senior official ever approached him to discuss his attitude and behavior."

When asked if he was aware that he occasionally engaged in behavior that could be interpreted as demeaning or dismissive, such as holding sidebar conversations while people were talking or turning his back on a speaker when he had heard enough, the senior official said that he did not “have that self-awareness.” He said he had no recollection of doing those things, but that if they had occurred, it was not conscious or deliberate, and that he had not intended to insult or belittle anyone. “I don’t yell, I don’t scream, I’m pretty easygoing,” he said. “I will ask tough questions, but I think that is what [a senior official] needs to do.” He said he did not consider these actions examples of a hostile work environment.

The OIG investigation also touched on charges Rep. Chaffetz raised during the Oversight Committee hearing that Mr. Neubacher's wife, Patty Neubacher, a deputy director in the Pacific Region Office, had tipped her husband off about the investigation into his behavior. While the OIG report did not name Mrs. Neubacher, it said Mr. Neubacher had received word last August from a regional official that he was being investigated.

One Yosemite employee interviewed by OIG said Mr. Neubacher "came into his office shortly thereafter and was focused on finding out who had filed complaints against him. According to the subordinate, the senior official told him he did not know who had filed them, but he mentioned the names of several female employees, including the manager and a management team member, whom he thought may have. He said that he told the senior official that the manager did not get the email. The subordinate said that sometime later, the senior official pulled up a Microsoft Word document on his computer and told the subordinate: 'I have a list of who they sent the notes to.'"

Mrs. Neubacher retired from the Park Service last fall, as well.

In the end, OIG forwarded its report to Mr. Reynolds, who is acting director of the National Park Service until the Trump administration appoints a new director, "for any action deemed necessary"

Former Park Service Director Jon Jarvis, who retired at the first of the year, was under pressure from members of Congress to effectively address and resolve management and conduct issues across his agency. Last August a bipartisan assembly of congressmen and women asked the director to provide three reports from more than a decade ago that looked into the problems so they can "understand NPS's response to sexual harassment and misconduct."

In early September, the chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee asked then-Interior Department Secretary Sally Jewell to provide his committee with a briefing on "the scope of mismanagement and consevation of national and cultural resources" at the National Park Service.

Many Park Service employees themselves are concerned about the work atmosphere. Some feel that problem employees sometimes are dealt with by simply being reassigned to another park or position. In the past, the superintendent of Gettysburg National Military Park was reassigned to a different office after his work computer was found to have pornography on it. Former Grand Canyon Superintendent Dave Uberuaga, who wanted to guide the park past its sexual harassment issues, instead was offered a transfer to the agency's Washington office before opting to retire.

In more recent incidents, at Canaveral National Seashore in Florida, both the superintendent, whose administration has been investigated three times by the Interior Department's Office of Inspector General, and her chief ranger, who was accused of sexually harassing park staff, were both working offsite producing reports and plans at a cost of nearly $200,000 a year in salary and benefits.

Allegations of sexual harassment also have been raised at Yellowstone National Park.