These are trying times for the parks/NPS

With a rudderless helm, overcrowded parks, and insufficient resources, these are trying times for the National Park System, the National Park Service, and park visitors.

Rather than nominate a permanent director for the Park Service, the Trump administration has drifted by, giving deputy directors the "authority" to execute the authority of the director. To fill this position, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke even reached into the past, bringing P. Dan Smith out of retirement to assume the role of acting director.

This was a curious and highly questionable move in that Mr. Smith was implicated more than a decade ago by the Interior Department's Office of Inspector General for leaning on the staff at the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park to allow the millionaire owner of the Washington Redskins to cut down trees in a scenic easement along the canal to improve his view.

Mr. Smith further raised more eyebrows earlier this year when he was investigated by the OIG for making an obscene gesture and using vulgar language while standing in the hallway of the NPS headquarters in Washington, D.C. "Smith acknowledged he gestured with his hands to simulate urinating while telling a story and stated that in hindsight the story and the gesture were not appropriate for work," the Inspector Genera's staff reported.

Secretary Zinke has said he has a zero tolerance approach for misbehavior, yet there was no indication he reprimanded Mr. Smith.

Meanwhile, recent personnel moves in the Park Service desired by top Interior Department officials appear to be creating a vacuum of sorts, with three pending vacancies at the top of the agency's seven regional offices.

Efforts to uproot Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Dan Wenk and move him to Washington, D.C., to oversee the National Capital Region collapsed when Wenk opted instead to retire. He had wanted to cap his four-decade Park Service career by completing work on a long-sought quarantine program that could see highly valued Yellowstone bison with their pure genetic lines distributed to interested tribes and organizations.

That move also created unwanted pressure and scrutiny on Cameron Sholly, the Midwest Region director picked to replace Wenk, a highly respected Park Service veteran. If Zinke really wanted Wenk out because the two disagreed over the number of bison in Yellowstone, what orders will Sholly carry to the park?

At the same time, Intermountain Regional Director Sue Masica also decided to retire rather than move to Omaha to take over the Midwest Region office after Sholly heads off to for Yellowstone. And while Zinke and Smith wanted Lake Mead National Recreation Area Superintendent Lizette Richardson to take over for Masica at the Intermountain Region, she, too, decided to retire.

At day's end, those decisions opened vacancies for directors of the Midwest, Intermountain, and National Capital regions, which combined oversee more than 150 units of the National Park System. Those jobs supposedly won't be filled until the National Park Service has a permanent director. That could take some time. Toss in the apparent lack of action over Smith's behavior, and what is the Park Service's rank-and-file to think?

“People who are left behind watch that, and they think, 'Well, we may be next'," Phil Francis, chair of the Coalition to Protect America's National Parks, said of the personnel moves. "So it’s not a good thing to do in terms of organizational health, in terms of morale. It’s not good to lose institutional memory. And it’s not a good thing to do at the end of people’s career.”

At the National Parks Conservation Association, John Garder shared those sentiments.

“Having leadership vacancies at the Park Service is never good. But it’s certainly a concern in this environment when there remains a vague Interior Department reorganization proposal that involves some staff reductions," said Garder, NPCA's senior director of budget and appropriations. "But it’s unclear where and who and for what purposes. The Park Service needs strong leaders, and leaving vacancies unfilled for any amount of time certainly is a concern when parks and regions are already struggling with understaffing.”

Shortly after he was confirmed as Interior secretary, Zinke told his 70,000 workforce that one of his top priorities was ensuring that "those of you on the front lines have the right tools, right resources, and flexibility to make the decisions to allow you to do your job. We serve the people, not the other way around. Washington has too much power. I think we need to return it to the front lines."

Unfortunately, his decisions so far don't seem to support that pledge. Rather, through his personnel moves, the aggressiveness of Zinke's Bureau of Land Management to open public lands to oil and gas development, and the efforts by the Trump administration to rewrite the Endangered Species Act come across as efforts by the secretary to pull strings to benefit his business connections and the extractive industry. Too much power in Washington indeed.

Zinke and those he's put in charge have created morale issues and allowed a culture and climate of discomfort and fear to fester. A former Park Service employee who has remained in touch with many colleagues still in the agency said he's heard of a lot of apprehension across the Park Service, with employees trying to keep their heads down and not make waves out of concern that it could jeopardize their careers.

“It’s too bad what’s going on, it’s really bad," said Francis at the Coalition. "It makes me wonder sometimes how many hidden agendas there are.”

Popular parks such as Mount Rainier, Rocky Mountain, Glacier, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Acadia, and Zion are being overwhelmed with visitors.

Follow these parks on Twitter and every morning you'll see reports of parking lots filling early, entrance station lines growing long.

"Parking at Paradise and Sunrise typically fills by 11 a.m. Visitors may encounter long waits at entrance stations. Plan accordingly," the staff at Mount Rainier tweets. "Come early or late in the day to avoid the heaviest congestion. Bring your back-up plan."

At Rocky Moutain, a frequently tweeted message is: "Until congestion is relieved: Restricted Vehicle Access on Bear Lake Road from Moraine Park to Bear Lake."

And at Acadia National Park In Maine:

These crowds affect visitor experience and enjoyment in the parks, impact natural resources and park facilities, and solutions can't come quickly enough. Staff at Zion, Acadia, and Arches national parks all have been working on management plans to address overcrowding. Stay tuned to see what solutions they choose, and what the Trump administration allows.

While Secretary Zinke's efforts to raise gate receipts at 17 popular national parks by more than doubling their entrance fees failed, park visitors should still brace for higher fees tied to their national park experiences.

The National Parks Hospitality Association, an organization that lobbies for park concessionaires, long has wanted more freedom in setting nightly lodging rates. They have won that at Yellowstone, where the park is in the first year of a five-year pilot program that allows Xanterra Parks & Resorts to sell roughly half the park's lodging for whatever the market will bear. Three-hundred a night for a room with two queen beds at Canyon Village? How about $322 for a room in August, one that goes for $198 two months later? Xanterra also runs concessions at Grand Canyon, Crater Lake, Zion, and Glacier national parks, so it might not be too long before those rooms, too, get pricier.

And if those do, won't Delaware North, Forever Resorts, Aramark, Guest Services, and others also seek more freedom in setting rates?

Sit back and consider these issues, and you can't help but wonder about the future of the parks.