Mass Resignations From National Park Service Advisory Board

"Three-quarters of the seats on the U.S. National Park Service advisory board are vacant following a mass resignation Monday night, citing Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's unwillingness to meet with them," reports Scott Neuman.

Led by former Alaska Gov. Tony Knowles, nine of the panel's 12 members resigned. "The bipartisan panel was appointed by President Barack Obama and the terms of all members who quit were set to expire in May," according to Neuman.

Knowles presented Zinke with a letter of resignation detailing the board's complaints. Knowles shared more details of the reasoning behind the resignations in an article Alaska Public Media. An article by Juliet Eilperin for The Washington Post also provides more details.

The mass resignation followed closely on an exposé in The New Yorker detailing the "disdain for regulatory processes" at the Department of the Interior under Secretary Zinke's leadership.