American Notes PARKS

In four years as director of the National Park Service, William Mott fought the Reagan Administration's reluctance to expand the system and spend enough to preserve existing sites against an ever rising tide of visitors. "Professionals in the field loved him, but the politicians often ignored him," observes Paul Pritchard, head of the National Parks and Conservation Association. Mott's long career as a respected outdoorsman and conservationist will end soon with his dismissal by Manuel Lujan, the new Secretary of Interior. Mott, 79, said last December that he wanted to keep his job.

No one would give a reason for the impending firing except that George Bush and Lujan want their own team. Mott will be replaced by James Ridenour, director of Indiana's natural resources department. He was campaign finance chief for Dan Quayle when the Vice President won election to the Senate in 1980. Ridenour's new boss is expected to be Constance Harrington, a former attorney at the department and daughter of a Republican Party fund raiser. She is in line to be named Assistant Secretary of Fish and Wildlife and Parks. Said a department employee about Secretary Lujan: "It looks like he is filling the ranks with folks who brought in the cash."