The Interior Department said that the two main training center for National Park personnel will have those programs closed down. These two sites train hundreds of new workers every year and offer advanced training to Rangers and other staff. The Horace P. Alright center at the Grand Canyon and the Stephen T. Mather center at Harpers Ferry will be closed. The Alright center trains staff on the natural wonders of the parks and the Harpers Ferry center trains employees on cultural and historical sites.
When the National Park Traveler questioned the Interior Department about whether training would be continuing at another site, Alyse Sharpe, spokesperson for the Interior Department said that there would be training in the future but she could not say where it would be or when training would resume.
The Mather site is housed in a building that was part of the historically Black college of Storer in Harpers Ferry. It was erected by the United States Army before the Civil War and was used by both the Union and Confederate armies during the war. The mission statement of the Mather center says:
“The Stephen T. Mather Training Center commits itself to the professional growth
and continuous learning of all employees in their assigned career fields and special
programs, and will provide them with comprehensive, competency- based, missionfocused training and development programs.”
According to the National Park Service, “The Stephen T. Mather Training Center coordinates
approximately 250 Servicewide Training and Development events, annually serving over 8,000
Service Employees.”
Note: The feature illustration shows the Mather Training Center.
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Shameful. This administration is a tornado that continues to wreck havoc across our public institutions. “America’s best idea” that had so much bipartisan support will be unrecognizable, if it even still exists, by the end of the storm that is this term of Trump’s presidency.
Thanks for your thoughtful reply.
Guess you forgot to mention the federal government is 37 trillion in debt and plans to “ The Interior Department is centralizing training and administrative programs in Washington.”
The president’s latest budget will increase the National Debt by 4 Trillion Dollars. Why are you defending his closing of training grounds for Park Rangers which cost a few million per year but you are not criticizing his Trillion Dollars tax cuts for the wealthy? Because you are an apologist for the man trying to undo the Park system.