The National Park Service has downgraded some the performance ratings given to staffers under guidance from the Trump administration to reduce the number of federal employees getting high marks in annual evaluations.
The push at NPS, according to two people familiar with the directive and several internal emails viewed by POLITICO’s E&E News, was relayed to park superintendents in a flurry of calls this week by senior NPS leaders.
One email described NPS Deputy Director for Operations Frank Lands telling supervisors in one region that roughly 80 percent of employees should be earning at least a 3 rating out of 5. Under the rating system, a 3 rating is given to employees who are “fully successful” at their jobs.
Lands said only 1 to 5 percent of park staff should be receiving “outstanding,” the highest grade, according to an email sent by a regional supervisor to superintendents. The email was obtained by the National Parks Conservation Association. E&E News granted anonymity to the sender and recipients of the emails because they were not approved for release to the press.
