in 2010 Jarvis became a park ranger in 1976, at the
National Mall and Memorial Parks.
Directorship Jarvis was serving as regional director for the Pacific West Region when, on July 10, 2009,
President Barack Obama nominated Jarvis for the directorship following the resignation of
Mary A. Bomar on January 20, 2009, the day of
President Obama's inauguration. A career civil servant, Jarvis had been with the service for over 30 years. He was confirmed by the
United States Senate on September 25, 2009, and served until his retirement on January 3, 2017. Jarvis wrote in 2010 that
climate change is "fundamentally the greatest threat to the integrity of our national parks that we have ever experienced." In 2013, Jarvis unveiled new guidelines for healthier food at national parks. In 2014, Jarvis banned the flying of
drones over national parks. Jarvis pledged to remove
Confederate flag merchandise from park bookstores and gift shops in 2015 after the
massacre of nine black people by a white gunman at a church in
Charleston,
South Carolina. In 2015, Jarvis signed an agreement for a new
Manhattan Project National Historical Park at the historic
nuclear reactor in
Hanford,
Washington. In 2016, the Park Service under Jarvis unveiled the
Stonewall National Monument in
New York City, commemorating the
Stonewall Riots for
gay rights. In his time as Park Service director, Jarvis faced criticism from Congress and watchdog organizations, claiming his oversight of the service failed to address a culture of
sexual harassment, bullying, and park mismanagement. Jarvis retired from his position on January 3, 2017. He was immediately succeeded by
Michael T. Reynolds, who was appointed as acting director. In 2018,
University of Chicago Press published a book co-authored by Jarvis,
The Future of Conservation in America: A Chart for Rough Water. Jarvis endorsed
Joe Biden in the
2020 presidential election. == See also ==