This week, the National Park Service is facing a leadership vacuum as the nominee to lead it gets withdrawn,

and a proposed budget could slash park funding by more than 25%.

Meanwhile, a controversial makeover at one of America's most iconic landmarks and a new whistleblower complaint

raising serious health concerns inside Yellowstone's employee housing.

A surprising experiment with robotic birds in Grand Teton, birds are real, some big positive

news out of California state parks and more. I'm Jason Epperson. This is parkography, and it's time

for the latest in National Park and Public Lands News.

Welcome back, everybody.

The National Park Service will remain without a permanent leader for the time being.

The Trump administration has withdrawn its nominee to lead the agency, Scott Soca, a longtime executive at Delaware North,

a hospitality firm that has concessionaire contracts at Yellowstone,

Grand Canyon, and Shenandoah National Parks. The move leaves the park service still without a confirmed director more than a year into the administration. No official reason for the

withdrawal was given, but according to reporting from the Washington Post, sources say Soka chose

to withdraw on his own,

citing the financial scrutiny that comes with the confirmation process

and the requirement to divest certain assets.

Soka's nomination was widely criticized by public lands advocacy groups

for his potential conflicts of interest as someone who works for a company

that has commercial interest in national parks

and for the nod towards park privatization indicated through nominating someone from a company like

Delaware North. The park service is currently overseen by acting director and controller

Jessica Bowren. The agency did not have a Senate confirmed director for the entirety of

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