Dear Secretary Norton,
As a person who treasures and visits our national park system to enjoy its beauty and history, I am strongly opposed to the effort now underway to drastically change the policies that protect our national parks.
The Interior Department has offered no credible reason for the drastic revisions now under consideration and I believe that is because no practical need exists.
These sweeping changes will abandon the long-standing pledge of our government to its citizens that the units of our national park system will be managed in such a way as to preserve them unimpaired for future generations. In fact, that bedrock promise, from which all else ought to flow, is replaced with proposed revisions that will allow for development and commercialization.
Under these new policies, park managers are encouraged to allow activities that directly conflict with the mission and long time management of the park service.
I urge you to abandon this ill-advised proposal. We love our parks. And over the years we have been justifiably confident that our parks will endure, even as politics shift, even as administrations come and go. Please do not be the first Interior Secretary ever to betray that promise.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your address]
