National Park Service: Denali staffer relayed concern about US flag flown by contractor

The National Park Service said Friday that one of its employees raised concerns in mid-May about a U.S. flag flying from a truck used by a construction worker in Denali National Park and Preserve, leading to the removal of the flag.

The incident attracted an online firestorm after it was first reported on conservative news sites, which cited an anonymous source saying that Denali’s superintendent, Brooke Merrell, requested the removal of the flag flown by a contractor completing work on a bridge project within the park.

The park service on Sunday issued a statement disputing that a service employee had requested the removal of a U.S. flag. But on Friday, park service spokesperson Peter Christian said that a park employee had notified the Federal Highway Administration about a visitor’s complaint regarding a flag earlier in the month.

“After further review, it has been confirmed that a Denali National Park employee notified FHWA staff about a visitor’s complaint of a flag ‘flapping’ on Denali Park Road and asked if there was an appropriate way to request it be detached from a contractor’s vehicle to limit wildlife and visitor impacts,” Christian said in a statement. “The employee contacted the FHWA without authorization, and without the superintendent’s knowledge. Park officials have taken corrective actions to ensure future park and project communications follow proper procedures.”

The report about the flag had circulated widely on social media leading up to Memorial Day, and was amplified after Alaska Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan wrote a letter — which he posted on social media — to the National Park Service, calling the situation “an outrage.”

On Sunday, Fairbanks residents organized what they called a “patriotic convoy” to Denali with vehicles flying U.S. flags. It also led to some disparaging social media posts attacking the park service broadly and Merrell in particular.

Christian said earlier in the week that “hateful words and threats being leveled at NPS employees working hard every day at Denali National Park are irresponsible and disappointing.”

[Earlier coverage: National Park Service disputes report that it tried to limit display of US flag in Denali]

The site where the incident took place is within the 6-million-acre park and preserve and is overseen by the Federal Highway Administration. The construction of a 475-foot bridge in the Polychrome Pass area over the Pretty Rocks landslide is being completed primarily by Granite Construction, a private contractor.

“As is always the case with construction work in our national parks, the goal is to minimize impacts and noise for both visitors and wildlife as much as possible,” Federal Highway Administration spokesperson Angela Gates said in a statement Wednesday.

According to the statement, the park service “relayed concerns to FHWA — as it does with all feedback related to the project — regarding single occupant vehicle traffic, as well as a visitor complaint about a flag on a vehicle while the vehicle was in motion.”

The highway administration staff “brought both concerns to the responsible contractor, who addressed the situation per their usual process,” Gates said.

Neither the Federal Highway Administration nor the National Park Service provided details on the identity of the staff member who relayed the complaint about the flag, nor the park visitor who initially made the complaint.

The contractor, Granite Construction, confirmed that the highway administration notified the company on May 16 “that a visitor complained” about a Granite Construction vehicle that “was creating a noise disturbance by traveling through the park with a mounted flag.”

The highway administration “asked that the flag be removed,” according to a statement from Erin Kuhlman, Granite’s chief marketing and communications officer.

“One of the Polychrome project’s partnership goals is to preserve the park’s natural elements and maintain park visitors’ experience by keeping a low profile as we go about our work, and we are mindful of this goal when planning our work and supporting the project,” Kuhlman said.

“We always work to be responsive to our client’s concerns and complied,” Kuhlman added. “Our interest is in safely completing this important project while being considerate of park visitors and their desire to enjoy the scenery and wildlife.”

Sullivan spokesperson Ben Dietderich said earlier this week that the constituent who reached out to Sullivan’s office had been asked to remove the 3-foot-by-5-foot flag from his truck after he’d been flying it “without incident.”

“Had the Park Service dismissed this complaint as not legitimate that would have been the end of the story. But they didn’t. They passed the complaint against this Alaskan on to someone else, not clear exactly who or for what reason,” Dietderich said in an email. “The end result was after a complaint was filed with the Park Service, a hard-working Alaskan was told by someone that he had to remove the flag from his truck.”

Asked if Sullivan was concerned about what the National Park Service described as “hateful words and threats” directed at staff members following reports of the incident, Dietderich said, “Sen. Sullivan condemns any and all personal attacks on public officials, including Park Service employees.”

Beyond that, the spokesman said Sullivan stood by the letter, which he said was meant to “get details of the incident, and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”