A California congressman apparently talked his way around Yosemite's reservations system to visit the park July 4/NPS file
A Democratic congressman from California apparently was able to go around the system to obtain tickets for two cars to enter Yosemite National Park on the Fourth of July.
Yosemite earlier this summer instituted a ticketing system to manage traffic into the park during the coronavirus pandemic. Under that system, day-use reservations are only available via recreation.gov.
Eighty percent of available reservations can be sought a month ahead of a planned visit to the park. For example, on August 1 you could have tried to obtain tickets for visits in September. The remaining 20 percent become available on recreation.gov two days ahead of available dates.
A staffer for U.S. Rep. TJ Cox contacted the park on July 1 seeking tickets for the holiday. Before rejecting the request, which was described as a personal visit to the park, Yosemite staff checked with the National Park Service's ethics office.
The ethics guidelines, park staff was told, noted that exceptions can be made for politicians on offical visits.
Yosemite's deputy superintendent, Teresa Austin, wrote the congressman's staffer, Nandini Narayan, to say the request couldn't be granted because the request was for a personal visit. Austin then agreed to talk to the congressman on July 2, and sought out the ethics guidelines to have handy as reference materials she could cite.
According to Fresno Bee and The Mercury News, the congressman ended up with the tickets.
An inquiry to Yosemite staff Thursday to determine how Rep. Cox obtained the tickets was not immediately answered. However, U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Arizona, who released the email exchange, said park officials recategorized Cox's visit as related to his work on the Great American Outdoors Act, which he cosponsored.
Overall, more than 250 members of the House of Representatives cosponsored the act.
“Subsequent telephone interviews with Yosemite Park Service staff indicate that Representative Cox’s call resulted in pressuring the National Park Service staff to change the request from personal to professional and grant him passes,” Gosar wrote in a letter to Interior Department officials. “National Park Service staff indicate this was done due to his status as a member of the Natural Resources Committee and to film a video to accompany the Great American Outdoors Act.”
Comments
The guys a Democrat and I will same the same as I said about Bernhardt. Politicians have been getting favors since the time of Ceasar and before. Always have, always will. Is it right. That's arguable. Does it really matter in the grand scheme of things? Probably not. There are much more important things to spend our time and money worrying about.
I been trying to get a pass for then last couplenof weeks. None available.
Almost every park I worked in over a 30-year period had perks for elected officials and dignitaries. The field Rangers didn't always like it but the Superintendents looked at it as another way to potentially receive additional funds for the park. It is called reality.
Sometimes doing the wrong thing for the right reason (especially if the visit helps bring attention and funding to the park) might be the way to go. I have been on several waiting lists, etc. after trying to make plans well in advance. Many politicians don't know where they will be and when so I understand the lack of preparation. Doesn't mean we have to like it we just have to live with it.