April 2016 - Parks & Recreation - 36

L AW R E V I E W

As described by the court, the
FTCA discretionary function exception " marks the boundary between
Congress' willingness to impose tort
liability upon the United States and
its desire to protect certain governmental activities from exposure to
suit by private individuals. " Further,
the court acknowledged that the
FTCA discretionary function exception is " designed to prevent judicial
'second-guessing' of legislative and
administrative decisions grounded in
social, economic and political policy
through the medium of an action in
tort, " i.e., a claim for damages for negligence that resulted in injury or death.
As noted by the federal appeals
court, " the Supreme Court has established a two-step process for evaluating whether a claim falls within discretionary function exception. " In
the first step, the court would examine " whether the government's actions are discretionary in nature, acts
that involve an element of judgment
or choice. "
In making this examination, it
is the nature of the conduct, rather than the status of the actor, that
governs whether the discretionary
function exception applies in a given
case. If there is . . . a statute or policy directing mandatory and specific
action, the inquiry comes to an end
because there can be no element of
discretion when an employee has no
rightful option but to adhere to the
directive.
Specific Action Mandated?
In this particular instance, Chadd
alleged that the National Park Service " should have destroyed the goat
before it killed Boardman, and that
[its] failure to do so constituted negligence. " Accordingly, in determining the applicability of the FTCA
34	 Parks & Recreation

discretionary function exception,
the federal appeals court would first
determine whether " a statute or policy directing mandatory and specific
action " required the National Park
Service to destroy the goat before it
attacked Boardman.

As a result, the federal
appeals court concluded
" the means by which
public safety concerns
are to be addressed is
left to the discretionof
superintendents and
other decision-makers...
As noted by the federal appeals
court, if no such mandate existed, then
" the [National Park] Service's management of the goat necessarily involved
an element of judgment or choice, "
and " the first prong of the discretionary function exception is satisfied. "
As described by the federal appeals
court, " the [National Park] Service's
Management Policies manual (the
" manual " ) is the basic service-wide policy document of the National Park Service and is mandatory unless specifically waived or modified by the Secretary,
the Assistant Secretary or the Director. "
Further, the National Park Service did
not dispute " this manual governed the
[National Park] Service's actions in the
lead-up to Boardman's death. " In particular, the federal appeals court noted that
Section 8.2.5.1 of the manual provided
the following instruction: " The saving
of human life will take precedence over
all other management actions. " That

| A P R I L 2 0 1 6 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

being said, the court also found " the
manual qualifies this obligation " in the
following manner:
The [National Park] Service will
do this within the constraints of the
1916 Organic Act. The primary -
and very substantial - constraint
imposed by the Organic Act is that
discretionary management activities
may be undertaken only to the extent that they will not impair park
resources and values. Moreover,
the obligation to " reduce or remove
known hazards " is limited by what
is " practicable and consistent with
congressionally designated purposes
and mandates. "
In the opinion of the federal appeals court, these statements in the
manual indicated  " there are many
factors the [National Park] Service
must consider while ensuring human safety in the national parks,
such as 'park resources and values,'
what is 'practicable' and 'congressionally designated purposes and mandates.' " Further, the court noted that
the manual explicitly provided that
" these management policies do not
impose park-specific visitor safety
prescriptions. " As a result, the federal
appeals court concluded " the means
by which public safety concerns are
to be addressed is left to the discretion of superintendents and other decision-makers at the park level. "
In the opinion of the federal appeals court, " such discretion includes
whether to eliminate potentially
dangerous animals. " In particular,
the court noted that the manual contained " guidance specific to exotic
(that is, non-native) species, such
as the mountain goats at Olympic. "
Specifically, the manual provided
that non-native species " will be managed - up to and including eradication - if (1) control is prudent and



April 2016 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of April 2016 - Parks & Recreation

April 2016 - Parks & Recreation - 1
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