Denali National Park sparks dispute over alleged removal of American flag

Denali National Park and Preserve staff found themselves at the center of a dispute over the American flag on Memorial Day, after Alaska's junior U.S. senator claimed he requested a Park construction crew removing a flag from a vehicle.

Sen. Dan Sullivan posted a Facebook post Saturday about the alleged incident, calling it “scandalous” to hear about over Memorial Day weekend. He shared a letter he sent to National Park Service Director Charles F. Sams III about the encounter, which reportedly took place during bridge work during the Pretty Rocks landslide near the Mile 45 of Denali Park Road.

“One of the vehicles involved in construction carried a 3×5 foot American flag while working on the project,” Sullivan wrote. “For reasons that remain unclear, someone from the National Park Service (NPS) forced the construction crew to remove the American flag from the vehicle.”

But park officials said the account of the incident was “false,” in a response Sunday on Facebook that had received more than 700 comments as of Monday afternoon.

“At no time did any NPS official seek to ban the American flag from the project site or associated vehicles,” park officials wrote. “The NPS does not administer the contract for the bridge project, nor does it have the authority to enforce any conditions or policies related to the contract or the contractors performing the work.”

The post goes on to note that the flag is visible in many locations throughout the park and that “we welcome its display this Memorial Day weekend and every day.”

Sullivan's letter called on Sams to investigate what happened and issue directives to ensure that “an incident like this does not occur again in America's national parks.”

“I cannot conceive of a federal law or regulation that would require this,” Sullivan wrote.