ECW News: “Rallying on the High Ground” in Support of the NPS
Advocates held a rally at Gettysburg National Military Park on Monday, June 16, 2025, in support of the National Park Service. Organizer Kevin Levin described it as “rallying on the high ground.” ECW’s Chris Mackowski speaks with Levin for a recap.
Could Mr. Levin convince the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park (FSNMP) to debate, in public, its attempts to reimagine how Stonewall Jackson’s legacy is interpreted at his Death Site? FSNMP has refused multiple offers to explain its plans in public.
I’ll stipulate that many people use Jackson as a Lost Cause totem, and make him into a larger-than-life figure. As a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, I’m embarrased when some of my compatriots describe Jackson as a 19th-century Iron Man, who flew up and down the Valley Pike smashing Yankees. (While sucking a lemon, of course).
But if the NPS is going to do controversial things, then it needs to explain itself publicly. Especially when asked to do so, repeatedly. Otherwise, it can only expect to receive a certain level of respect from the public.
Why do I need to “stipulate” anything? Why do we have to agree with everything the NPS does to show support for the work that they do? I don’t agree with every interpretive decision, but I appreciate the hard work that they do for all of us.
Sucks to be 36 TRILLION in federal debt. 25% of budget goes to servicing the debt payment.
I have yet to hear from any of the NPS advocates where else in the budget can cuts be made, so as to restore NPS funding. Protesting without solutions is meaningless
PS NPS is calling 19 June “independence day”
I agree that the Federal debt is way to large, and significant reforms need to be made. However, the NPS budget is about one-fifteenth of one percent of the overall national budget. The NPS is charged with protecting some of America’s irreplaceable national natural and cultural treasures, and its mission is sensitive, unique, and carried out as a public trust for the nation. That seems like a small price to pay.
What is your source for the “independence day” reference?
I viewed this interview with great interest, inasmuch as I have been a life long supporter of the National Park Service’s overall preservation efforts. But right now, I have a “burr in my saddle” about the manner in which the Supervisor at the Gettysburg NMP is mismanaging the current desecration of the Plum Run valley between the Round Tops and Devil’s Den by a damned beaver pond!
A good friend recently visited Gettysburg. During a Q& A, the Superintendent stated that beavers were native to the area so no effort was being undertaken to relocate the furry trespasser(s) to America’s most visited hallowed ground. Not satisfied with that response, my friend forwarded a complaint up the chain of command to the Secretary of the Interior. The Secretary forwarded the complaint to the Superintendent, who then responded to my friend by ducking behind NPS policy, GNMP management goals, plans, and reports. In short, the Superintendent proved her proficiency by composing a polite reply of bureaucratic “blather” that basically shows no interest whatsoever in preserving the 1863 appearance by relocating the beaver(s).
This damned beaver pond is a blight to the 1863 landscape. (In fact, if a beaver were to have taken up residence in the Gettysburg area in 1863, it would have been immediately trapped for its valuable pelt.)
The NPS undertakes extreme efforts to promote the re-establishment of the landscape features of battlefields throughout America. Moreover, The Gettysburg NPS undertakes the same extreme efforts to establish the grounds and the structures to depict the condition at the time of the battle. That is, until this notable exception.
In 1888, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain revisited Gettysburg to dedicate a monument. He offered an enigmatic reflection which stated in part that future visitors would “…come to this deathless field, to ponder and dream.” I just can’t visualize his expression if he gazed down from Little Round Top to view a damned beaver pond.
To conclude, The Superintendent needs to do the right thing, regardless of bureaucratic BS, and find a better home for those furry trespassers.