Throwing up his hands in disgust and abruptly resigning was not how Mark Nebel envisioned he would end his long career with the National Park Service. He loved his job at the Grand Canyon, where he had worked for 15 years.
As manager of the park’s geosciences program, Nebel, 68, oversaw efforts to protect its geology and paleontology as well as monitoring water sources, air quality and the effects of climate change. He had planned to stay in his position at least five more years before retiring. There was still much research to do to support the vulnerable ecosystems in one of the world’s greatest natural wonders.
But after Donald Trump took office, Nebel’s rewarding job turned into a bottomless pit of frustrations. As “department of government efficiency” (Doge) staff embedded themselves in the National Park Service on their hunt for “waste, fraud and abuse”, Nebel says his program – which works closely with universities, non-profits and Native American tribes – became hamstrung.
