Park ‘bioprospecting’ plan questioned

JACKSON, Wyo. – Several groups are questioning a National Park Service plan that would allow national parks to receive benefits from commercial “bioprospecting” in places like Yellowstone National Park.

The groups fear the plan would jeopardize the agency’s mission to preserve such places. Bioprospecting, the pursuit of organisms found in geysers and hot pools, has led to development of new technologies. One discovery resulted in a method to quickly reproduce DNA for genetic tests.

Companies have made millions of dollars from research that began in Yellowstone, but the park service has not shared in the bounty. Now the federal agency wants to be able to negotiate with researchers for a share of wealth that could be derived from discoveries that originate from parks.

The park service plan, circulated for public review, has drawn criticism from the Edmonds Institute, Alliance for the Wild Rockies, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility and the International Center for Technology Assessment.

Critics ask whether the lure of cash or other benefits might cause park managers to permit activities that otherwise would not be allowed.

The groups made their positions and statements in a briefing paper released by Public Employees for Environmental Ethics, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy organization.

“This is, sadly, another step along the path of turning our national treasures into corporate booty,” said Beth Burrows, director of the Edmonds Institute, of Edmonds, Wash.

The Edmonds Institute and others sued the Park Service when the federal agency tried to negotiate with a research company for benefits from its Yellowstone research discoveries. The suit forced the agency to complete an environmental review, now available seven years later.

“We support scientific research in the parks, but we are against commercializing the parks and their wildlife,” Burrows said in a statement.