CORRECTION: Eight Acadia National Park Probationary Employees Reinstated
NOTE: Everyone. I (Carrie) am sick today. We are just two people doing a job for FREE for multitudes while also trying to make dinner, survive financially, and raise a family in a town we love on an island we love.
We apologize for not catching the spelling error ‘prohibitionary’ for ‘probationary.’ For those who kindly told us of our mistake? We appreciate it. For others, please think about how you interact with people, including us. We’re people, too. And we will make spelling errors and punctuation errors because that’s what humans do—especially the humans who are sending out news for free with a staff of two.
Again, we apologize for the error.
ACADIA NATIONAL PARK—Acadia National Park is reinstating the eight probationary employees that were terminated in February.
“In compliance with court orders, the Department of the Interior is reinstating these employees. Individual notifications are underway, and while the process takes time, affected employees can expect to receive notification soon, if they have not already. All impacted employees will receive back pay, and the department will ensure continued compensation as the White House pursues its appeals process,” according to the Office of the National Park Service, Wednesday, March 19.
Last Thursday, U.S. District Judge William Alsup declared that the termination of probationary park employees throughout the country was illegal. Judge Alsup determined that the Office of Personnel Management did not have the authority to terminate those employees. This past Monday, March 17, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, ruled 2-1 that the Trump administration’s request to stay the order should be deny.
Judge Alsup then issued an order on March 17 expressly saying that probationary employees should not be placed on administrative leave en masse, but rehired and asked for an explanation.
There are also approximately 50 seasonal jobs posted in Acadia National Park at both Bar Harbor (44) and Winter Harbor (6). Those numbers do not include what the website for government jobs states is the need for “many” seasonal fee clerks and technicians.
Staffing shortages at the national park are often the topic of news related to the park. U.S. Rep Chellie Pingree has recently stated that the lack of staffing “cannot be overstated” at the park which receives millions of visits each year.
Each year, the park has looked to fill approximately 160 seasonal positions. In the past few years, the park has often filled less than 120.
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Thank you for continuing your good work, part of what builds the capacity of our community to understand what is going on and follow through with our responsibilities as citizens. As for the nay-sayers: do your best to ignore their unkindness. There is really no excuse for it.
Additional information: 2 of the 8 employees remain on indefinite administrative leave which goes against the judges order. We will continue to fight for our rangers and public lands!!