A Grand Canyon National Park unit has been dismantled following a report by a federal watchdog that found a longstanding pattern of sexual harassment there, according to an AP report. Grand Canyon Superintendent Dave Uberuaga announced the decision to dismantle the river district, as part of a series of reforms the agency in response to a scathing Interior Department’s Office of Inspector General investigation.
In February, members of the Arizona Congressional delegation asked Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewellher to take appropriate disciplinary action against National Park Service employees who are found to have engaged in sexual harassment or violence. Signers of a letter to Jewell include Rep. Ruben Gallego, Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, Rep. Martha McSally, Rep. Raúl Grijalva, Rep. Paul Gosar, Rep. Matt Salmon, Rep. David Schweikert, Rep. Trent Franks, and Rep. Kyrsten Sinema.
A 2014 letter of complaint from 13 current and former Grand Canyon National Park Service employees cited rampant sexual harassment and abuse. A subsequent Inspector General’s report found “evidence of a long-term pattern of sexual harassment and [a] hostile work environment,” including incidents involving employees being pressured for sex by a supervisor and facing retaliation for refusing or reporting their assaults.
According to the representatives, “The report also highlights NPS’s inconsistent and ineffective responses to the issue, indicating the issue – as is true in far too many cases of sexual harassment – may be underreported.”
The representatives cite one case in which an employee was “found to have taken a photograph under a female colleague’s dress was suspended for only 30 days.”