The director of the National Park Service will take a break from battling the Gulf Coast oil spill to present the Marshall Lecture at 11:30 a.m. Thursday at Hudson’s Bay High School.
Jon Jarvis is incident commander at Mobile, Ala. He represents the Department of the Interior, which includes the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
More than 400 people are part of the Department of the Interior response, including biologists, archaeologists, health professionals and rangers.
o What: Marshall Lecture, presented by National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis.
o When: 11:30 a.m. Thursday.
o Where: Hudson’s Bay High School, 1206 E. Reserve St.
o Cost: Tickets are free and can be printed out until 3 p.m. today here; tickets will be available at the door Thursday morning.
o What: Marshall Lecture, presented by National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis.
o When: 11:30 a.m. Thursday.
o Where: Hudson's Bay High School, 1206 E. Reserve St.
o Cost: Tickets are free and can be printed out until 3 p.m. today here; tickets will be available at the door Thursday morning.
o Parking: Student lot (east side) along East Reserve Street; athletic field parking lots across the street on south side of Mill Plain.
o Parking: Student lot (east side) along East Reserve Street; athletic field parking lots across the street on south side of Mill Plain.
Working with the U.S. Coast Guard and the Environmental Protection Agency, Jarvis is planning for wildlife reconnaissance and recovery and shoreline cleanup. The assessment includes surveys, sampling and flyovers to document baseline conditions before evidence of the oil slick appears.
The National Park Service is focusing on protecting natural resources in eight national parks in Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas.
Thursday’s presentation by Jarvis is part of the Fort Vancouver National Trust’s “Celebrate Freedom” program.
Organizers of the lecture series look for speakers with links to Gen. George Marshall, who served at Vancouver Barracks from 1936 to 1938.
Elson Strahan, president and CEO of the Fort Vancouver National Trust, said Jarvis will discuss a Depression-era recovery program, the Civilian Conservation Corps. Marshall oversaw the Northwest’s CCC system that put men to work on public projects.
“The CCC played a very important role as a catalyst for development of the National Park Service itself,” Strahan said.
Jarvis became the 18th director of the National Park Service in October. Fort Vancouver National Historic Site is a unit of the park service.
Jarvis began his career in 1976 as a seasonal interpreter. He moved up through the agency as a protection ranger, a resource management specialist, park biologist and chief of natural and cultural resources.
Jarvis was superintendent at Mount Rainier National Park and most recently served as the director of the Pacific West Region.
Tom Vogt: 360-735-4558 or tom.vogt@columbian.com.
