DC Protests 2000-2009 (National Park Service)

Hello,

In accordance with 43 CFR 2.11, we will need your name in order to begin
processing this request. It is also not clear if you intend to request a
fee waiver.

If you are intending to request a fee waiver, your submitted request did
not provide sufficient justification to qualify for a fee waiver under the
Department’s FOIA regulations (43 CFR 2.48
<http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/retrieveECFR?gp=&SID=3cf2d9487b3873a721f90f5f7513c333&r=PART&n=43y1.1.1.1.2#se43.1.2_148>).
The statutory requirement for granting a fee waiver is that release of the
information must be in the public interest because it—

(1) Is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the
operations and activities of the Government; and
(2) Is not primarily in your commercial interest.

In accordance with 43 CFR 2.48, you must specifically address the
Department’s fee waiver criteria for each request you submit, regardless of
whether you may have been granted a fee waiver previously. To assist us in
making a decision on your request for a fee waiver, we ask that you address
the following:

(1) How the records concern the operations or activities of the Federal
government.

(2) How disclosure is likely to contribute to public understanding of those
operations or activities, including:

(3) How disclosure is likely to significantly contribute to the
understanding of a reasonably broad audience of persons interested in the
subject, as opposed to your individual understanding, including:

(4) How the public's understanding of the subject in question will be
enhanced to a significant extent by the disclosure.

In accordance with 43 CFR 2.51(c), if we do not hear from you within 20
workdays of this letter, we will presume you are no longer interested in
this matter and will close the file on your request. Please do not hesitate
to contact me with any further questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

C.

____________________

Ms. Charis Wilson, PhD, CRM
NPS FOIA Officer
12795 W. Alameda Parkway
PO Box 25287
Denver, CO 80225-0287
303-969-2959
Fax: 303-969-2557
1-855-NPS-FOIA
charis_wilson@nps.gov

"What we find changes who we become." - Peter Morville

"The historian works with records...there is no substitute for records: no
records, no history." - Paraphrasing Langlois & Seignobos (1903)

"Let us be guardians, not gardeners" - Unknown, From 1963 Living Wilderness
editorial - Attributed to Adolph Murie

Hi Brandon,

After receiving the requested clarification, I am routing this request to
you for processing. Let me know if it turns out another office needs to
search for responsive records.

As usual I've cc'd the requester so they know who will be handling their
request.

Thanks,

C.

____________________

Ms. Charis Wilson, PhD, CRM
NPS FOIA Officer
12795 W. Alameda Parkway
PO Box 25287
Denver, CO 80225-0287
303-969-2959
Fax: 303-969-2557
1-855-NPS-FOIA
charis_wilson@nps.gov

"What we find changes who we become." - Peter Morville

"The historian works with records...there is no substitute for records: no
records, no history." - Paraphrasing Langlois & Seignobos (1903)

"Let us be guardians, not gardeners" - Unknown, From 1963 Living Wilderness
editorial - Attributed to Adolph Murie

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: <requests@muckrock.com>
Date: Tue, Apr 12, 2016 at 7:53 PM
Subject: RE: Freedom of Information Request: DC Protests 2000-2009
(National Park Service)
To: npsfoia@nps.gov

April 12, 2016
National Park Service
FOIA Officer
12795 W. Alameda Parkway
P.O. Box 25287
Denver, CO 80225

This is a follow up to a previous request:

Ms. Wilson,

Thank you for your prompt follow-up. I apologize for the error that
resulted in my name being left out. It's Michael Best.

In this instance, I do not think it's proper to receive a fee waiver.
However, I am VERY grateful to you for clarifying this point.

Sincerely,
Michael Best
---

On April 12, 2016:
Hello,

In accordance with 43 CFR 2.11, we will need your name in order to begin
processing this request. It is also not clear if you intend to request a
fee waiver.

If you are intending to request a fee waiver, your submitted request did
not provide sufficient justification to qualify for a fee waiver under the
Department’s FOIA regulations (43 CFR 2.48
<
http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/retrieveECFR?gp=&SID=3cf2d9487b3873a721f90f5f7513c333&r=PART&n=43y1.1.1.1.2#se43.1.2_148
>).
The statutory requirement for granting a fee waiver is that release of the
information must be in the public interest because it—

(1) Is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the
operations and activities of the Government; and
(2) Is not primarily in your commercial interest.

In accordance with 43 CFR 2.48, you must specifically address the
Department’s fee waiver criteria for each request you submit, regardless of
whether you may have been granted a fee waiver previously. To assist us in
making a decision on your request for a fee waiver, we ask that you address
the following:

(1) How the records concern the operations or activities of the Federal
government.

(2) How disclosure is likely to contribute to public understanding of those
operations or activities, including:

(3) How disclosure is likely to significantly contribute to the
understanding of a reasonably broad audience of persons interested in the
subject, as opposed to your individual understanding, including:

(4) How the public's understanding of the subject in question will be
enhanced to a significant extent by the disclosure.

In accordance with 43 CFR 2.51(c), if we do not hear from you within 20
workdays of this letter, we will presume you are no longer interested in
this matter and will close the file on your request. Please do not hesitate
to contact me with any further questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

C.

____________________

Ms. Charis Wilson, PhD, CRM
NPS FOIA Officer
12795 W. Alameda Parkway
PO Box 25287
Denver, CO 80225-0287
303-969-2959
Fax: 303-969-2557
1-855-NPS-FOIA
charis_wilson@nps.gov

"What we find changes who we become." - Peter Morville

"The historian works with records...there is no substitute for records: no
records, no history." - Paraphrasing Langlois & Seignobos (1903)

"Let us be guardians, not gardeners" - Unknown, From 1963 Living Wilderness
editorial - Attributed to Adolph Murie

---

On April 12, 2016:
To Whom It May Concern:

This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request
the following records:

Permits, permit applications for protests from January 1, 2000 - December
31, 2009 as well as arrest reports for times and locations matching the
protests in and around Washington, D.C. including but not limited to:

The White House
Embassies
Supreme Court
Federal Buildings
Civic Plaza
Dupont Circle
Franklin Square Park
Freedom Plaza
Lamont St. Park
Malcolm X Park (aka Meridian Hill)
McPherson Square
Upper Senate Park
Murrow Park
Columbus Circle
Lincoln Park
MLK memorial
National Mall
Lincoln Park

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and
this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform
me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer
the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or
CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I
look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business
days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

------
Filed via MuckRock.com
E-mail (Preferred): requests@muckrock.com

For mailed responses, please address (see note):
MuckRock
DEPT MR 25142
411A Highland Ave
Somerville, MA 02144-2516

PLEASE NOTE: This request is not filed by a MuckRock staff member, but is
being sent through MuckRock by the above in order to better track, share,
and manage public records requests. Also note that improperly addressed
(i.e., with the requester's name rather than "MuckRock News" and the
department number) requests might be returned as undeliverable.
------

Mr. Best,

We are in receipt of your request and have conducted some initial research
with our permits office. Materials responsive to the permits portion of
your request are stored offsite by hard copy, and are filed alphabetically
by permit applicant - they are not organized by specific location. As such,
your request would fall into the voluminous processing track. By our
initial estimates your request as currently written would result in a fee
to you of several thousand dollars. This would be in addition to additional
fees likely to be charged by the United States Park Police relating to
pulling the requested arrest records.

We would also note that some of the locations mentioned in your request are
not under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service, and thus we would
hold no responsive records.

Please advise if you would like us to provide for you a detailed fee
estimate for your request as currently written, or if you would like
to reduce the scope of your request, so as to limit the amount of time
and/or duplication that would be required to process your request,

Sincerely,

Brandon Bies
-----------------------------------------------
Brandon S. Bies
Legislative Coordinator and FOIA Officer
National Capital Region
202-619-7097

Mr. Best,

The NPS does not maintain statistical information or reports on permit
applications prior to 2013. We do maintain a database for permits issued
beginning in 2013, but it only captures the "purpose of proposed activity"
as provided by the applicant. In some cases, this may simply say "protest"
while in others it may be a lengthier description of a First Amendment
activity, with the vast majority having nothing to do with either as we
issue permits for many activities other than protests. In other words, no
database or list exists solely of permits which were issued for protests
and/or First Amendment activities.

Going back to your original request, are you specifically looking for
arrest statistics at protests/First Amendment events on NPS lands? If so,
these records are not managed and retained by the National Capital Region
of the National Park Service, rather by the United States Park Police. If
so, we can refer this to their FOIA office.

Finally, for general information about how permits are handled by the
National Mall and Memorial Parks, please visit
https://www.nps.gov/nama/planyourvisit/permitsandreservations.htm.

Please let us know how you would to proceed.

Sincerely,

Brandon Bies
-----------------------------------------------
Brandon S. Bies
Legislative Coordinator and FOIA Officer
National Capital Region
202-619-7097

--
Christopher Watts Staff Assistant
Lands, Planning and Design National Park Service National Capital Region 1100 Ohio Drive SW Washington, DC 20242 202-619-7485
EXPERIENCE YOUR AMERICA™ National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior http://www.nps.gov/faqs.htm (http://www.nps.gov/faqs.htm)

Beryl: it appears that Mr. Best/muckrock recvd my out of office message.
Both Brandon Bies and I recvd this message and are working directly with
Mr. Best.

Thanks

Christopher Watts
Staff Assistant
​

Lands, Planning and Design
National Park Service
​
National Capital Region
1100 Ohio Drive SW
Washington, DC 20242
202-619-7485

EXPERIENCE YOUR AMERICA™
National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior
http://www.nps.gov/faqs.htm

Mr. Best,

Yes - we will move forward with processing your request under a revised
scope which requests the permits database for the permits handled by the
National Mall and Memorial Parks from its inception in 2013 through the
present.

Sincerely,

Brandon Bies
-----------------------------------------------
Brandon S. Bies
Legislative Coordinator and FOIA Officer
National Capital Region
202-619-7097

You have received 2 secure files from christopher_watts@nps.gov.
Use the secure links below to download.
Mr. Best:

This file notice is in response to your Freedom of Information Act request.

Thank you for your interest in the National Park Service.

Secure File Downloads:
Available until: 26 June 2016

Click links to download:
2016-00572 MuckRock First Amendment Activity Release.pdf ,44 KB - [Fingerprint: 331d41214cf37ed085863573b92bc384]
https://secure.nps.gov/seos/1000/mpd/ui27062016733ce585e173f2c24d137312ef34f46e

National Mall First Amendment Permits pdf.pdf ,291.24 KB - [Fingerprint: eefd2df42a18963279c95f4c64c3b824]
https://secure.nps.gov/seos/1000/mpd/ui27062016cb4a6e551b190db29366cd705defb059
You have received file link(s) sent via NPS Secure File Transfer (hosted by Accellion). To retrieve the file(s), please click on the file name (link) above.

Please verify your e-mail address

Please click on the following link to verify your e-mail.
https://secure.nps.gov/a/wva/CKR088887eOAZ031B5kT5yIV6p6yiq2I1101464350802

This verification link expires in 168 hour(s). Beyond this timeframe, please click https://secure.nps.gov/a/wva/CKR088887eOAZ031B5kT5yIV6p6yiq2I1111464350802 to request a new verification link.

Thank you for using National Park Service Secure File Sharing.

Please verify your e-mail address

Please click on the following link to verify your e-mail.
https://secure.nps.gov/a/wva/CKR088887eOAZ031B5kT5yIV6p6yiq2I1101464350804

This verification link expires in 168 hour(s). Beyond this timeframe, please click https://secure.nps.gov/a/wva/CKR088887eOAZ031B5kT5yIV6p6yiq2I1111464350804 to request a new verification link.

Thank you for using National Park Service Secure File Sharing.