Service Members, Families Get Free Pass to National Parks

By Lisa Daniel

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, May 15, 2012 – Service members and their families will be able to enter all of America’s national parks free of charge for a year under an initiative announced today.

The pass – the America the Beautiful National Parks and Federal Recreation Lands Annual Pass, which normally costs $80 – will become available to service members and their dependents on Armed Forces Day, May 19.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar made the announcement this morning, along with National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis, at a ceremony at Colonial National Historical Park in Yorktown, Va., the site of the last major battle of the Revolutionary War. The area surrounding the park hosts installations from all the military services, including the world's largest naval base.

"I think when one goes into Virginia and you see all the sites, the Yorktown battlefield and the whole history of the country, it's important that those who have fought in the tradition of making sure the nation's democracy and freedom are protected also have access to these wonderful sites there," Salazar said yesterday in a conference call with reporters.

The passes allow the holder and passengers in a single private vehicle access to some 2,000 sites that charge per vehicle. At sites where entrance fees are charged per person, it covers the pass owner and three adults age 16 and older.

The National Park Service estimates that giving away the passes to service members and their families will result in a revenue loss between $2 million and $6 million, but Jarvis said that won’t cause a significant impact on the agency, which collects about $150 million in fees each year.

Military personnel can get the passes at any national park or wildlife refuge that charges an entrance fee by showing their military ID. Family members also will be able to obtain their own pass, even if the service member is deployed or if they are traveling separately.

The pass will be accepted at National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Reclamation, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Army Corps sites that charge entrance or standard amenity fees.

The free pass will be made available for activated members of the National Guard and reserves, but not for military veterans or retirees, whom Jarvis said have other opportunities for free or reduced admission, such as the National Patrk Service’s “Access Pass” or a seniors pass for those 62 and older.

Jarvis, a 40-year Park Service employee, said that while the free passes are a first, they are representative of the parks’ history with the military, which dates back to the Buffalo Soldiers’ battles with Native Americans in the mid-1800s and the recruitment of former military members to serve as park rangers under the first NPS director, Stephen T. Mather. The Park Service maintains many military historical sites from Gettysburg to Pearl Harbor, and in World War II even closed some parks, such as Mount Rainier in Washington state, to all but active military members, he said.

Right after World War II, the Park Service invested heavily in infrastructure to prepare the parks for returning service members, Jarvis said. Today’s generation of warriors also deserves a deep connection to the parks, he said.

“From my perspective, it is incredibly important to return this group of returning military members to their national parks,” Jarvis said. “Nothing is more core to the American experience than the national parks. These are places for quiet and contemplation and to reconnect to the American experience. And we don’t want there to be any barriers to that.”

The free pass initiative is part of the “Joining Forces” campaign First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, launched last year to rally Americans around supporting service members and their families.

"Our nation owes a debt of gratitude to our servicemen and women who make great sacrifices to protect our country and preserve our freedom," Dr. Biden said in a White House statement. "In recognition of their service, we are so pleased to be putting out a welcome mat for our military families at America's most beautiful and storied sites."

Hunter Admits to Killing Forest Service Officer

Michael J. Moore, United States Attorney, for the Middle District of Georgia, announced that Norman Clinton Hale, age 42, a resident of McDonough, Georgia, entered a plea of guilty before the Honorable Marc T. Treadwell, United States District Judge in Macon on November 18, 2011. Hale entered a plea of guilty to killing a federal officer (involuntary manslaughter), discharging a firearm in a developed recreation site, and hindering communication to a law enforcement officer. Hale faces a maximum sentence of eight years’ imprisonment for the offense of involuntary manslaughter and a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment for hindering communication to a law enforcement officer. Discharging a firearm in a developed recreation site is a misdemeanor offense. Sentencing will be scheduled by the court in mid-March, 2012.

On March 5, 2010, United States Forest Service Law Enforcement Officer Christopher Upton was located at the Ocmulgee Bluff Equestrian Trailhead in the Oconee National Forest, Jasper County, Georgia. Officer Upton was located on Forest Service property conducting surveillance to determine if individuals were violating the law or damaging Forest Service property or land.

Sometime after 9:45 p.m. on March 5, 2010, Norman Clinton Hale and others arrived at the Ocmulgee Bluff Equestrian Trailhead for the purpose of coyote hunting. Hale was armed with a Remington 700 bolt action .223 caliber rifle which was fitted with a night vision scope. Hale climbed into the bed of his pickup truck and started hunting in Trailhead, which is a developed recreation site.

During the hunt, Hale claimed he saw “bright eyes” and fired his rifle. After firing his rifle, Hale instructed another person to go out to the location toward which he, Hale, had fired. This person observed that a human being, later identified as Officer Upton, had been shot by Hale. Despite being in possession of cell phones, no one at the scene immediately called 911 or rendered any aid to Officer Upton.

After over an hour had passed, 911 was finally called. By the time emergency services arrived at the scene, Officer Upton was dead.

Hale and others were interviewed by law enforcement officers. At the scene and in a later interview, Hale failed to communicate to law enforcement officers that other witnesses were present at the time of the shooting who might incriminate him.

United States Attorney Michael J. Moore stated, “This case is uniquely tragic. It is inconceivable that Forest Service Officer Chris Upton was left to die, without any aid or comfort being offered by Mr. Hale. We are talking about a human being, a husband, a son and father. The failure to immediately call for help or render aid in these circumstances is inexcusable.”

The case was investigated by the United States Forest Service, Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Jasper County Sheriff’s Office, Georgia State Patrol and supported by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI). The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael T. Solis.

Questions concerning this case should be directed to Sue McKinney, Public Affairs Specialist, United States Attorney’s Office, at (478) 621-2602.