NPS Scientist Excluded from Tour

NPS Scientist Excluded from Tour

The Superintendent of Glacier National Park, Jeff Mow, was removed from Mark Zuckerberg’s park tour by the Trump administration. Mr. Mow is known as a climate expert and frequently tells visitors that the retreating ice sheets at Glacier National Park are evidence of a climate undergoing rapid change.

The decision to exclude Mr. Mow was made by top officials at the Department of the Interior (DOI), the National Park Service (NPS)’s parent agency, and was said to be highly unusual. DOI’s press secretary reportedly indicated she did not want Mr. Mow involved in the tour. NPS public affairs staff were also instructed not to publicize Mr. Zuckerberg’s visit on its Facebook or other social media accounts.

DOI claimed that the decision to exclude Mr. Mow from the tour was a practical one given that it was peak tourist season in the park and that allocating such extensive government resources to a celebrity would have been a waste of money and a disservice to average park-goers. However, it is common for park superintendents to greet and give tours to prominent visitors to help promote the NPS and, in some cases, to develop relationships that could eventually lead to philanthropic donations.