National Park Construction Crew Told To Stop Flying American Flag
The crew working on a bridge in Alaska’s Denali National Park was recently told they can no longer fly the American flag at their construction site.
The bridge is being built by Granite Construction after a 2021 rock slide took out a portion of the Denali Park Road. The $207 million Federal Highway Administration project will repair the road at mile 45 so that it can be used by visitors and tour buses to access more remote areas of the park.
But park superintendent Brooke Merrell has ordered the workers to stop flying the Stars and Stripes from their equipment — citing complaints that the flag detracts from the "park experience."
Apparently, road closure signs, bright orange cones and cranes do not detract from the "park experience," but American flags do.
(Photo by Patrick T. FALLON / AFP) (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)
A contractor working on the project told Alaska Watchman that patriotism wasn't a problem until the park began running tour buses earlier this week.
"Here I am in a national park, and we’re being told we can’t fly the American flag," the contractor said. "I understand there are rules for contractors working in the national parks, but you wouldn’t think flying the American flag would be part of those rules."
A worker carries surveying equipment at the the Pretty Rocks Landslide area on the Denali Park Road.
(Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)
Sen. Dan Sullivan sent letter to the director of the National Park Service, Charles "Chuck" Sams III on Friday, expressing his strong disapproval of the demand that workers take the American flags off their trucks and heavy equipment.
"It is an outrage that on the lead-up to Memorial Day, a construction worker was prohibited from flying an American flag in a national park in Alaska," Sullivan posted on X. "I cannot conceive of a federal law or regulation mandating this."
Notably, Denali National Park does fly the U.S. flag from several stations inside the park and at the visitors’ center. So it's unclear why Superintendent Merrell believes a 3x5 flag on a construction vehicle is a problem.
A group of Alaskans are organizing a patriotic convoy on Sunday to protest Merrell's decision. They plan to meet in Fairbanks and drive to the park entrance, all flying American flags.