Mid-level management at NPS politicized?

Do mid-level managers at the National Park Service need to be approved by a political appointee, and are they screened for fealty to Our Leader? Thus is the charge from the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility:

The National Park Service has started using a political loyalty test for picking all its top civil service positions, according to an agency directive released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). Under the new order, all mid-level managers and above must also be approved by a Bush administration political appointee.

The October 11, 2005 order issued by NPS Director Fran Mainella requires that the selection criteria for all civil service management slots (Government Service grades or GS-13, 14 and 15) include the "ability to lead employees in achieving the ...Secretary’s 4Cs and the President’s Management Agenda." In addition, candidates must be screened by Park Service headquarters and "the Assistant Secretary [of Interior] for Fish, and Wildlife, and Parks," the number three political appointee in the agency...

Whether this group can be trusted in their interpretation of this matter is an open question.

OutdoorSports · Fri, 10/14/2005 - 10:24 · · Importance: 1