From the Conservation Study Institute, US Department of the Interior, and with the imprimatur of the National Park Service itself:
STEWARDSHIP BEGINS WITH PEOPLE
An Atlas of Places, People, and Handmade Products
(click on the link below for the full version)
(I was informed by Leslie Shahi of the Conservation Study Institute on 03/18/13, that the book was never made available as a PDF download because it “was graphic intensive – the size was prohibitive” . I have obtained a scanned PDF of the full version which I have EASILY uploaded above for your benefit, having taken less than 15 seconds to download to my computer and then upload to this blog. If you have any difficulties with the full version, click on the link below for the abbreviated version; it includes all but chapters on other parks.)
(click on the link below for the currently available WEB ACCESSIBLE VERSION. This version is ONLY 12 PAGES LONG. You can only find it via Google Search, being that it is not available through the NPS Website as all the others are. FURTHERMORE, the CHAPTER ON POINT REYES NATIONAL SEASHORE is MINUS any reference to Kevin Lunny and Drakes Bay Oyster Co. THE PHOTO OF Dave Evans and Kevin Lunny is included yet KEVIN LUNNY is AIRBRUSHED OUT !!!
JUST IN! ONE OF MY READERS PROVIDED THIS LINK TO THE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE EDITION. He wrote to me the following: “Oddly, (perhaps by intent) it comes up under the “fs.fed.us” domain, i.e., the Forest Service, not the Park Service.”
http://www.fs.fed.us/sustainableoperations/documents/susops-summit07-SustCommTrack_Part-II.pdf
It is within the FULL VERSION of the ORIGINAL PUBLICATION ONLY where you will find on page 45 not only a photograph of Kevin Lunny but also, the following comments:
“fourth generation rancher”, who, in this publication, is “recognized for [his] ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP AND INNOVATION….[who] belong[s] to a growing number of West Marin farmers and ranchers COMMITTED TO SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURAL STRATEGIES….Lunny has converted his herd to grass-fed and organic production….Lunny’s Drakes Bay Family Farms now operates an oyster farm on Drakes Estero.”
The Introduction states this is “a guide to the work of friends and neighbors of U.S. national parks…who are practicing a stewardship ethic and demonstrating a commitment to sustainability…and the people in this Atlas–and others like them–deserve both recognition and encouragement.”
Other notes and quotes from the publication [EMPHASIS ADDED]:
“Stewardship” presents a blueprint for “advancing innovations in collaborative conservation for the stewardship of our national system of parks and other special places” by highlighting successful examples of places, people and businesses long imbedded in national parks and nearby agricultural communities. EACH IS A POSTER EXAMPLE OF SOUND, TIME-HONORED MIXED USE OF PARK LANDS.”
Pages 4, 20, 30 and 32 are particularly poignant and speak to the Park Service’s policy of exploring creative ways to “re-establish a connection — between parks and living cultures; BETWEEN PUBLIC LANDS AND THE STEWARDSHIP OF FARMS and forests; BETWEEN PEOPLE AND THE FOOD THEY EAT; and between park visitors, communities and a more sustainable future.”
The Park Service’s “Stewardship” PROMOTES SMALL, HISTORIC, LOCAL, FAMILY-OWNED, ORGANIC, SUSTAINABLE, EDUCATIONAL, COMMUNITY ENRICHING, JOB CREATING, DIVERSE FOOD PRODUCERS and eloquently reaffirms a sense of place, local cultures, regional identify, distinctiveness and character, AND THE NEED TO ADDRESS THE UNRAVELING OF SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC RELATIONSHIPS TO THE LAND.
And as it so advocates, the THE PARK SERVICE SPEAKS DIRECTLY TO THE VALIDITY AND VALUE OF CONTINUED MIXED USE OF DRAKES ESTERO BY OUR NATIONAL TREASURE, Drakes Bay Oyster Co.
Curious though is this, in the center of the first page of the Introduction is a paragraph in bold face type, brown font, that states:
“It is no longer enough to strive for a friendly “coexistence.” All parties need to be more intentional and proactive in defining their mutual interests and crafting new, more cooperative strategies that contribute to some measure of sustainability and long-term conservation.”
Was that a sincere statement or a somewhat ominous portent of what was to follow?
On the Acknowledgements page, second column, first line, you will find the name Don Neubacher, the then superintendent of Point Reyes National Seashore.
The date of the publication is 2007 yet, early in 2007, Neubacher met with Steve Kinsey, President of the Marin County Board of Supervisors. He proudly revealed his “war room” and claimed that Kevin Lunny was an “environmental criminal” and could expect fines and “JAIL TIME” and discussed his newly launched campaign to remove the oyster farm from the seashore.
I called The Conservation Study Institute at at 802-457-3368 the number given on the inside front cover, and was put through directly to Leslie Shahi at extension 16. Hers is the second name mentioned on page 58 – the Acknowledgments page – for her “much appreciated help with collecting and organizing the variety of images that appear in the Atlas”.
When asked, she stated that the publication was never made available as a PDF because it was “graphic intensive, the size was too big”.
I requested 10 copies be sent to me and was informed they were not only free, but there would be no shipping and handling charges either. (Our tax dollars at work!). I was assured they would arrive within three to four days that translates to Friday. I will update this posting at that time and when and if I receive them as well as whether their contents are the same as the originals in my possession – 60 pages including the back inside and outside covers.
We are providing you with an abbreviated version as well as the full version.
For the abbreviated version, we have included the entire book EXCEPT the chapters on other parks to make sure full credit is given to those who deserve credit and citation and to provide pertinent information from the publication for your benefit:
· Front cover
· Inside front cover (where permission to share the information is expressly given*)
· Title page
· Map
· Table of contents
· EBay’s landing photo page
· Introduction (2 pages)
· Sue Conley Cowgirl Creamery and other photos page
· Point Reyes National Seashore (the full chapter – 3 pages)
· Website References (2 pages)
· Acknowledgements (see second column first line of that page for mention of Don Neubacher)
· Photographic Credits (inside back cover)
· Back cover
Express permission is granted on the inside front cover, paragraph three and four:
*”We encourage you to share the information in this publication, and request only that you give appropriate citations. Copyrighted images are not placed in the public domain by their appearance in this document. They cannot be copied or otherwise reproduced EXCEPT IN THEIR PRINTED CONTEXT WITHIN THIS DOCUMENT without the written consent of the copyright holders.
Recommended citation: Diamant, Rolf, et al. Stewardship Begins with People: An Atlas of Places, People, and Handmade Products. Woodstock, VT: Conservation Study Institute, 2007.”
Drakes Bay Oyster Company & the National Park Service. Watch the video, "THE FRAMING OF AN OYSTER FARM" at http://vimeo.com/52331881 
2019-06-03 Muldoon’s Misconduct & the NPS
“Did Muldoon herself follow the safety guidelines she was appointed to implement? Muldoon’s actual track record is a long list and large collection of safety violations, safety problems and safety misconduct.”
* * * * *
“Muldoon’s re-appointment to the NPS Safety Leadership Council hardly inspires confidence inside NPS or for visitors to our National Parks. Under her leadership, the Wilderness at Point Reyes mismanaged toxic materials, some of which are still present on the public beaches at Drakes Estero. The NPS Director and the senior leadership at the Interior Department need to put a bright light on Superintendent’s record at Point Reyes. NPS needs more compliance with law, policy and procedures, not a growing stack of violations. Secretary Bernhard, the new Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Rob Wallace and Acting Director, NPS, Danny Smith need to find out what’s really going on at Point Reyes.”
https://russianrivertimes.wordpress.com/2019/06/03/editorial-toxic-safety-supervision-in-national-park-service/
russianrivertimes
Editorial: Toxic Safety Supervision in National Park Service
Posted on June 3, 2019by russianrivertimes
Do David Bernhardt, the newly Senate-confirmed Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, and Rob Wallace, the just-nominated Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Fish, Wildlife and Parks, or Danny Smith the Acting Director for National Park Service (NPS) have the slightest clue as to what has been going on at Point Reyes National Seashore (PRNS)? Recent events reveal that they don’t. Is NPS at Point Reyes working overtime to make certain they never find out?
Muldoon, NPS co-chair of Safety Leadership Council reappointed despite questionable safety track record
In a 28 March 2019 e-mail to all NPS employees, Acting NPS Director Smith re-appointed Cecily Muldoon, Superintendent, PRNS, to a second term on the NPS Safety Leadership Council (SLC) where she will serve as Co-Director. Initially formed in 2007 by then-NPS Director Mary Bomar, it was implemented under NPS Executive Order #50, which expressly states, “We hold that the safety and health of our employees, concessioner employees and other Federal, state and local stakeholders….to be a core value of the NPS.”
The order sets forth that NPS managers across the country must “Meet or exceed all current applicable statutory, regulatory, and policy requirements”.
Did Muldoon herself follow the safety guidelines she was appointed to implement? Many of the requirements of the SLC fall under OSHA, (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) Department of Labor, EPA and other federal and state agencies, so one might expect that given her position on the Safety Council, that her supervision of PRNS employees and contractors “meets or exceeds” compliance with law, policy, and procedures. It doesn’t. Muldoon’s actual track record is a long list and large collection of safety violations, safety problems and safety misconduct.
Investigation by Cal EPA at Drakes Estero leads to referral of charges to Marin DA for prosecution
For more than two years, the Russian River Times documented a whistleblower’s report of serial failures by NPS and its contractors to comply with NPS safety law, policy and procedures during removal of oyster racks from Drakes Estero (Point Reyes). The whistleblower, a marine diver, filed a complaint with the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) after he received chemical burns from exposure to hazardous wastes while working on the rack removal project. In mid-2018, DTSC opened an investigation. Last December, DTSC completed their work concluding that wide-spread mismanagement of toxic materials took place on the NPS project. The Report, not yet public, was submitted to Lori Frugoli, the Marin County District Attorney. It recommends prosecution for more than 20 violations of law, some criminal, against the NPS contractors.
Whistleblower recovers back pay and contractor fined by OSHA
Previously, the Russian River Times reported on other violations of law on the same NPS project. Contract violations, investigated by the US Department of Labor concluded the whistleblower and others were shorted on pay and that significant safety violations occurred. That same whistleblower, with assistance from the Foundation for Fair Contracting (FFC), received a settlement restoring his rightful pay. In addition, in December 2016, shortly after the whistleblower was fired, the contractor on the Drakes Estero Project was fined for OSHA safety violations.
No bid contracts can be “totally non-transparent” and subject to abuse
The FFC’s Bryan Berthiaume recently discussed with the Russian River Times a growing list of problems with no-bid and non-competitive contacts awarded by the Federal Government. The long list of safety violations at Point Reyes came from a no-bid, non-competitive contract. Berthiaume also told the RR Times that his organization is actively following another scandal involving this same NPS contract. The California State Contractor’s Licensing Board investigation of the Drake’s Estero rack removal contractor regarding serious violations of personnel requirements for holding their license. He also stated, generally, that the proliferation of contracts issued without competitive bidding continues to become a real scandal, and renders much government contracting totally non-transparent. This has certainly proved the case in the RR Times investigation, which has been unable to trace the handling and fate of some 1300 tons, or approximately 76 truckloads, of contaminated sediment identified in the original NPS engineering Report for this project, despite repeated requests to NPS.
According to Berthiaume, “ we’re seeing a lot of problems with many case of near total lack of supervision of some contractors, especially in the under $4-5 million range. Being perceived as a ‘compliant’ contractor on these issues can lead to multiple contract awards and too often becomes ‘the gift of public money that keeps on giving’. While FFC’s work is involved mostly with labor and contracting terms, we see a huge problem on some contracts with the issuing agencies failure to not only assure compliance with labor law and safety law, but also environmental issues or even basic compliance with contract terms, as is the case in working with the whistleblower in the Drake’s Estero matter. This is not a partisan issue and it’s going to take Congress having a serious look at how DOI and other agencies really handle their contracts to even start to fix it.”
City of San Francisco complains to Superintendent Muldoon over lack of concern for public safety
Upholding NPS policy on public safety also appeared low on Muldoon’s priorities when she was temporary Acting Superintendent of the Golden Gate National Recreational Area (GGNRA), after she approved a protest permit for a group and its members who were known to be violent in Portland, Seattle and Charlottesville. In an angry August 15, 2017 letter from then SF Mayor the late Edwin M. Lee, and Supervisor (now Mayor) London Breed, declared, “This permit has been granted without the necessary contingencies to protect the safety of the public and the assumption that the City of San Francisco will expend our resources to diffuse the situation”.
Safety violations, issues and concerns – a long list of them – are the hallmarks of Muldoon’s management at Point Reyes. NPS reports on toxics were withheld from the Corps of Engineers and subcontractor employees but not contractors (direct worker notification of the presence of toxics is required by DOL law and OSHA regulations). Toxic wood waste and sediment were handled in a manner in direct violation of California law, not to mention contract terms. This allowed substantial time and financial savings for the contractor. Tons of sediment, which NPS’ own Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) said was contaminated, are unaccounted for. Complaints about workplace safety violations were ignored. FOIA requests about safety issues have been ignored, manipulated or not answered.
Real safety and fact-based environmental leadership needed at NPS
Muldoon’s re-appointment to the NPS Safety Leadership Council hardly inspires confidence inside NPS or for visitors to our National Parks. Under her leadership, the Wilderness at Point Reyes mismanaged toxic materials, some of which are still present on the public beaches at Drakes Estero. The NPS Director and the senior leadership at the Interior Department need to put a bright light on Superintendent’s record at Point Reyes. NPS needs more compliance with law, policy and procedures, not a growing stack of violations. Secretary Bernhard, the new Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Rob Wallace and Acting Director, NPS, Danny Smith need to find out what’s really going on at Point Reyes. Senator Murkowski, as Chair, the Senate Energy Committee and Congressman, Raul Grijalva, as Chair, House Natural Resources Committee need to put the same spotlight on NPS adherence to law, policy and procedure. Point Reyes is a good place to start illuminating the real quality of leadership.
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Posted by Jane Gyorgy on June 16, 2019
https://oysterzone.wordpress.com/2019/06/16/2019-06-03-muldoons-misconduct-the-nps/