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On 23 August 1994, Dr H. Ronald Pulliam, Director of the National Biological Service
(NBS), named Charles van
Riper III to the
position as first NBS Ombudsman.
The ombudsman was designed as a rotating position, that served as an ear and a voice in Washington, for
scientists and staff in the
field. Dr. Pulliam stated his hope "that the NBS Ombudsmen can be creative problem
solvers and not just complaint
investigators. . . .I want the Ombudsmen to find out what the problems are and offer
realistic solutions to those
problems."
Dr. van Riper formed an Ombudsmen Committee of six former National Park Service (NPS)
scientists. The committee members were
asked to concentrate on issues concerning former NPS scientists who were transferred to
the NBS, in particular the
following issues:
Overhead
Technical and Administrative Support
Bureaucracy
Communication with Former Agencies
Products produced by this
assignment were published and widely circulated among Department of Interior
agencies. The main product, commonly referred to as the 'Van Riper White
Paper,' served as the template for several national funding efforts (e.g., Park
Orientated Research Program -PORP) that still exist today within the
Department of the Interior.
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