New Controversy Over U.S. National Park Service Fatal Incident Reporting Policy
The U.S. National Park Service (NPS) has enacted a new internal policy governing how deaths and serious injuries are reported across the country’s most remote, undeveloped park landscapes.
A December internal memorandum, recently reviewed by The Washington Post, bars NPS staff and other on-site employees from officially confirming details surrounding injuries or fatalities involving the park system’s more than 300 million annual visitors. While serious accidents and deaths are rare in national parks, they are not unprecedented: the sites draw millions of outdoor recreationists yearly who participate in a wide range of high-risk activities, from high-altitude peak bagging and sport rock climbing to whitewater rafting.
Historically, the NPS has freely shared details of park fatalities and accidents, in large part because this open data helps other visitors make safer choices during their trips. On average, 358 people die each year across U.S. national parks. When pre-existing medical emergencies such as heart attacks are excluded, the vast majority of remaining accidental deaths are tied to motor vehicle crashes, drownings, and falls from elevation.
Per The Washington Post’s reporting, the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), which oversees the NPS, states in the memo that it “shall not confirm a death.” This rule applies to all DOI bureaus (including the NPS) and covers “all Interior communications involving fatalities, suspected fatalities, serious injuries, or emotionally sensitive incidents.” The guidance also warns employees against confirming injury severity or sharing private medical details, requiring all disclosure of deaths and accident information to be handled by unspecified “appropriate authorities,” widely presumed to be law enforcement agencies.
In a statement to Fast Company, the DOI pushed back against The Washington Post’s characterization of the policy change. “The narrative being presented is false and reflects a significant mischaracterization of the department’s guidance,” an Interior Department spokesperson said, noting that the agency remains committed to providing “timely and accurate” information, with prioritizing notification of victims’ families first.
“The guidance was developed to create a more consistent approach to incident communications across the department and is not intended to conceal fatalities or delay information,” the spokesperson added. “We continue to provide public safety information, statements, news releases, and incident updates as appropriate, while respecting investigative processes, privacy considerations, next-of-kin notifications, and, in some cases, requests from family members not to release identifying information.”
As The Washington Post notes, the NPS has long released details of deaths and serious injuries quickly, often posting public updates within 48 hours of an incident. Just this past weekend, a man died after being swept over a 600-foot waterfall in Yosemite National Park, one of several recent fatalities across the park system. That incident has not yet appeared on the official NPS website, though other 2024 fatalities have been documented there: three heat-related deaths at Grand Canyon National Park earlier this month, and a fatal fall from a high trail at Zion National Park in April.
