BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) – As many as 10 workers in Yellowstone National Park’s maintenance division will be disciplined after an investigation found they subjected female employees to derogatory comments and other sexual harassment, the park’s superintendent told The Associated Press.
The move comes as widespread reports of harassment, bullying and other misconduct have tarnished the image of the National Park Service and its parent agency, the U.S. Interior Department.
Investigators have uncovered problems at many of the nation’s premier parks – Yellowstone, Yosemite, Canaveral National Seashore, the Grand Canyon – as well as inappropriate behavior toward female employees by the Interior Department’s director of law enforcement.
The agency’s Office Inspector General launched its investigation into Yellowstone last year when a park employee complained to a local magazine and members of Congress that a pervasive “men’s club” environment had encouraged the exploitation and abuse of female workers.
The results of the investigation were shared with park officials more than four months ago, on March 13.