"There's an easy reason to explain why National Park Service superintendents have suddenly gone mum: They're scared.

That's according to former National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis.

"In my conversations with folks that are in the field, there is an element of fear that has been conveyed down, that you'll be punished if you speak out, certainly if you speak to the press," Jarvis told a group of House Democratic leaders this week.

In an interview with E&E News, Jarvis said the Trump administration wants to keep superintendents silenced to prevent them from describing the widespread damage they've discovered in parks during the partial government shutdown, now in its 28th day."

Rob Hotakainen and Jeremy P. Jacobs report for Greenwire January 18, 2019.