SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) – The director of Missouri State Parks was fired after a seven-year tenure in which the park system underwent a major expansion but was criticized for using funds meant for other purposes to buy new land.
Bill Bryan, who was appointed by former Gov. Jay Nixon in 2009, said he was told about the decision on Jan. 23, The Springfield News-Leader reported.
“I was surprised when I got the call that my services were no longer needed,” Byran said. “There was no explanation offered, and I didn’t ask for one.”
Bryan said he didn’t know if new Republican Gov. Eric Greitens or his new Department of Natural Resources chief, Carol Comer, was responsible for his ouster. Missouri State Parks, with approximately 550 full-time employees and up to 2,000 employees during peak tourism seasons, is a division of the DNR. It currently manages 92 parks and historic sites.
Parker Briden, spokesman for Greitens’ administration, said he wouldn’t comment on personnel decisions involving Bryan. DNR spokesman Tom Bastian said the division’s two deputy directors are managing daily operations, but he declined to comment further.
The DNR and Missouri State Parks were criticized last year for using money designated for cleaning up lead-contaminated areas in eastern Missouri to buy land for new parks.
Last year, Rep. Craig Redmon, R-Canton, sponsored an amendment that would have cut Bryan’s $111,606 annual salary in half after the cleanup funds were used to buy land.
On Wednesday, Redmon said he thought Bryan had done “an adequate job” as head of the park system.
“I think his departure is more aligned with having a new governor in place,” Redmon said. “Bill was a casualty of politics.”
Steve Nagle, president of the Missouri Parks Association, praised Bryan’s tenure.
“Our hope was that Bill could have stayed on and help patch things up with the legislature,” he said. “Five years from now, when the dust settles, people will realize how valuable these state parks are to their local economies.”
(Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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