Critics of President Donald Trump’s administration say the rollout of the new ratings system at the Park Service could herald broader changes across the federal government.
“The National Park Service is enforcing this with great vigor, which is surprising and disappointing given how many staff the National Park Service has lost in the last year, and how overworked the staff currently are,” said Tim Whitehouse, executive director of the nonprofit Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. “The idea that people can only get basically satisfactory performance reviews is bad management. It’s not true, and it’s terrible for morale.”