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   The 850,000 acres in Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks are some of the wildest country in the Sierra Nevada range-so much so that law enforcement rangers in the National Park Service have nicknamed these parks the "Wild, Wild West." It is here among California's tall sequoias, soaring mountain peaks, and narrow canyons that the Park Service is fighting a war with organized crime.

   Between January and September 2004, the Park Service and local and federal law enforcement agencies tracked down and removed $176 million worth of marijuana plants - exceeding the 2003 yearly total. The clandestine marijuana gardens and their guards - men armed with AK-47s - are polluting rivers and streams with fertilizer, trampling delicate soils and disrupting natural drainage, piling trash, laying miles of irrigation tubing, and poaching wildlife.

   Sequoia and Kings Canyon are understaffed and underfunded, but rangers are doing their best to protect the parks by coordinating multi-agency raids and alerting the parks' 1.5 million annual visitors to the dangers that might exist just off the trail-or alongside their campsite.

   These parks are not alone. Over the past year, rangers have siezed illegal drugs at several parks, including Organ Pipe Cactus and Coronado national monuments in Arizona, and Padre Island National Seashore and Amistad National Recreation Area in Texas.

Law Enforcement Needs are System-Wide

   The chronically understaffed Park Service is increasingly challenged to protect visitors, cultural artifacts, and wildlife. In 2002, the agency recorded 11,000 total resource violations servicewide with 246 violations of the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979, which among other things, prohibits destruction or removal of rare or valuable artifacts from parklands.* This is a permanent loss to the American public. In its fiscal year 2005 budget, the administration raised concerns that,

"the illegal removal of wildlife from the parks is suspected to be a factor in the decline of at least 29 species of wildlife, and could cause the extirpation of 19 species from the parks."

   In Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, black bears are poached so that their body parts can be resold as aphrodisiacs. An intact black bear gall bladder, for example, can easily fetch up to $3,000 on the international black market. Brown bears are poached from Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska. Moss is poached from Olympic National Park in Washington and ginseng plants are removed from their natural range from Shenandoah south to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This year, eight grizzly bears were shot or poisoned in and around Glacier and Yellowstone national parks.

   Additional rangers are needed in marine parks such as Dry Tortugas and Biscayne in Florida to prevent illegal fishing and coral poaching, and enforce boating safety and navigation laws. In 2002, National Park Service Director Fran Mainella told Congress that "poaching, overfishing, and improper fishing, boating, and diving practices" were among the "activities that contribute to the degradation" of Virgin Islands National Park's fragile marine ecosystem.

In 2003, the Interpol Working Group on Wildlife Crime reported that "globally, wildlife smuggling is estimated to be worth $US6 billion to $US10 billion a year, ranking third behind narcotics and arms smuggling."

   But poaching and drugs are only two reasons the Park Service needs greater law enforcement resources and capacity.
The agency estimates that it needs approximately 60 new law enforcement rangers in Alaska - double the current number on staff - to conduct search and rescue and provide emergency medical services for visitors, and patrol the immense national parks in that state.

   At Mojave National Preserve in the California desert, inadequate funding and staffing limit the ability of park rangers to investigate illegal off-road vehicle use, hazardous material dumping, and archaeological crimes that degrade the park. Additional capacity is also needed to rein in the rampant speeding on park roads that kills desert tortoise and other wildlife.

Equipment, Trained Personnel Needed

   In many national parks, dedicated rangers work without reliable radios, backup and patrol coverage, comprehensive training, and funding for necessary equipment. Worse yet, according to statistics compiled by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, harassment and attacks against National Park Service rangers and U.S. Park Police officers reached a record high in 2003.

   The Park Service's limited on-the-ground law enforcement capacity is further eroded by the demands of homeland security. In fact, the agency has estimated that it must spend an additional $63,500 each day that the nation is at Code Orange. This diverts funds from the parks' operating budgets, and when rangers from parks such as Rocky Mountain and Shenandoah are sent to guard the Statue of Liberty, dams, and porous international park borders, their positions remain unfilled. At Big Bend National Park in Texas, backcountry rangers who would otherwise be devoted to resource protection can be assigned to border control activities.

Key Recommendation:
Increase Operational Funding for Parks

   The bears, forests, and historic artifacts in our national parks cannot speak for themselves. When criminals pillage, vandalize, or degrade our national parks, future generations suffer the loss of these treasures unless someone is out there keeping an eye on our heritage.

   The Park Service does not have a separate budget for law enforcement, with the exception of the U.S. Park Police, which patrols the monuments in Washington, D.C., the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island in New York, and Golden Gate National Recreation Area in San Francisco. But the Park Police, too, are short staff. In December 2003, the former chief told The Washington Post that a shortage of 800 officers and $12 million was limiting the ability of the 620-member police force to protect visitors and the parks. Funding for law enforcement personnel and equipment in all other parks is included as part of the operating budget, which research has shown to be short by more than $600 million annually.

    Congress and the administration should ensure that experienced law enforcement managers remain in charge of law enforcement activities. Additionally, sufficient resources, training, and staffing - compatible with other local, state, and federal police agencies - are needed for commissioned rangers to do their critical job safeguarding our nation's vast parklands, irreplaceable natural and cultural resources, and nearly 300 million annual visitors.

Take Action

• Write to Congress >> Encourage your members to increase funding in fiscal year 2006 for the operating needs of the national parks.
• Anyone with information about any suspicious activities within the National Park System may notify authorities by calling 888-677-2746. Callers can choose to remain anonymous.

Learn More

• Contact >> the U.S. Park Ranger Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police, an association of Park Service law enforcement rangers, for more information about law enforcement needs in the national parks.

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*Note: This figure was clarified on June 22, 2006. The orginal report stated that the agency recorded 11,000 violations of the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979. After a review of the source, the FY04 National Park Service Green Book, the sentence was updated to read "In 2002, the agency recorded 11,000 total resource violations service wide with 246 violations of the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979." We apologize for the error.