The National Park Service said Friday that one of its employees raised concerns in mid-May about an American flag flying on a truck used by a construction worker at Denali National Park and Preserve, leading to the removal of flag.
The incident created an online storm after it was first reported on conservative news sites, which cited an anonymous source as saying that Denali Superintendent Brooke Merrell requested the removal of the flag being flown by a contractor completing the I work on a bridge project within the park.
On Sunday, the park service issued a statement denying that a service employee had requested the removal of an American flag. But on Friday, park service spokesman Peter Christian said a park employee had notified the Federal Highway Administration about a visitor’s complaint regarding a flag earlier in the month.
“After further review, it was confirmed that a Denali National Park employee notified FHWA staff of a visitor’s complaint about a ‘waving’ flag on Denali Park Road and asked if there was an appropriate way to request that it be removed from the park. contractor vehicle to limit the impact on wildlife and visitors,” Christian said in a statement. “The employee contacted the FHWA without authorization and without the knowledge of the superintendent. “Park officials have taken corrective action to ensure future park and project communications follow proper procedures.”
The flag report had circulated widely on social media before Memorial Day, and was amplified after Alaska Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan wrote a letter, which he posted on social media, to the Park Service Nationals, describing the situation as “an Outrage.”
On Sunday, Fairbanks residents organized what they called a “patriotic convoy” to Denali with vehicles flying American flags. It also led to some derogatory social media posts attacking the park service in general and Merrell in particular.
Christian said earlier this week that “hateful words and threats directed at NPS employees who work hard every day in Denali National Park are irresponsible and disappointing.”
(Previous coverage: National Park Service disputes report that it attempted to limit American flag display on Denali)
The site where the incident occurred is located within the 6 million-acre park and preserve and is overseen by the Federal Highway Administration. Construction of a 475-foot bridge in the Polychrome Pass area over the Pretty Rocks landslide is being completed primarily by Granite Construction, a private contractor.
“As always with construction work in our national parks, the goal is to minimize impacts and noise to both visitors and wildlife as much as possible,” said Federal Highway Administration spokeswoman Angela Gates. , in a statement on Wednesday.
According to the statement, the park service “relayed concerns to FHWA, as it does with all comments related to the project, regarding single-occupant vehicle traffic, as well as a visitor complaint about a flag on a vehicle while the vehicle was moving. “
Highway administration staff “raised both concerns to the responsible contractor, who addressed the situation according to their normal process,” Gates said.
Neither the Federal Highway Administration nor the National Park Service provided details about the identity of the staff member who relayed the complaint about the flag, nor the park visitor who initially filed the complaint.
The contractor, Granite Construction, confirmed that the highway administration notified the company on May 16 “that a visitor complained” about a Granite Construction vehicle that “was creating a noise nuisance by traveling through the park with a flag mounted.”
The highway administration “requested that the flag be removed,” according to a statement from Erin Kuhlman, Granite’s director of marketing and communications.
“One of the partnership goals of the Polychrome project is to preserve the natural elements of the park and maintain the visitor experience by keeping a low profile as we conduct our work, and we are mindful of this goal when planning our work and supporting the project.” Kuhlman said.
“We always work to respond to and fulfill our customers’ concerns,” Kuhlman added. “Our interest is in safely completing this important project while being considerate of park visitors and their desire to enjoy the landscape and wildlife.”
Sullivan spokesman Ben Dietderich said earlier this week that the constituent who contacted Sullivan’s office had been asked to remove the 3-foot by 5-foot flag from his truck after it had been flown “without incidents.”
“If the Park Service had dismissed this complaint as not legitimate, that would have been the end of the story. But they didn’t. They passed the complaint against this Alaskan to someone else, without it being clear exactly who or why,” Dietderich said in an email. “The end result was that, after filing a complaint with the Park Service, someone told an Alaska worker that he had to remove the flag from his truck.”
When asked if Sullivan was concerned about what the National Park Service described as “hateful words and threats” directed at staff members following reports of the incident, Dietderich said Sullivan defended the letter, which he said was intended to “obtain details of the incident. and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
• • •
Keynote USA
For the Latest Local News, Follow Keynote USA Local on Twitter.