Three months after Greenpeace demonstrators scaled Mount Rushmore to unfurl a huge protest banner, the National Park Service is admitting that there were human and mechanical failures in the security system that day.

An NPS memo released Wednesday indicated that certain security cameras were either inoperable or not functioning as designed, and sensors that were turned off for a tour had not been turned back on at the time Greenpeace began its ascent.

Those failures weakened an aging security system that, even when fully functional, might not have thwarted the well-planned, efficiently-executed protest operation by Greenpeace, NPS regional official Jim Loach said.

"I would say there were human errors on that day. Cameras were not fully functional, and sensors were turned off," Loach said. "Would the system otherwise have stopped or prevented it? Probably not. But we can't say for sure.

"Some of the things that were not functioning might have made some difference."

Loach spoke to the Rapid City Journal on Wednesday afternoon in the most direct and specific NPS response to questions since the July 8 protest. He said that after a multiple-agency review and extensive consultation, NPS finally produced a memo that, without jeopardizing security, provides information on the Greenpeace protest, the response of authorities, problems that were identified, and ways to fix them.

NPS took immediate action to fix problems in the security system and has been making improvements ever since, Loach said. And the work isn't finished.

"Many things have changed up there to enhance security, and others will occur," he said. "The National Park Service is absolutely committed to providing a secure environment up there. In order to do that, things are going to have to change."

The changes include increased and improved security equipment and an expansion of the restricted-access areas. More rangers, dispatchers and security personnel will be hired. The new staff positions will include a security manager and an "electronic systems specialist position, who will be trained to function in steep, mountainous terrain," the memo said.

The changes will also mean less public access to areas outside of the main tourist areas.

Special mountain tours offered to media outlets, politicians and others took 633 people up into the "secure area" on the mountain in 2008 alone. Photographs from those tours have appeared in magazines "revealing anchor locations and other sensitive features," and "components of the security system have been discussed in at least one trade magazine," according to the memo.

"I think as open as it was, it allowed individuals to glean information," Loach said.

The mountain tours have been stopped, and are likely to resume only on a more limited basis with approval of park superintendent Gerard Baker.

Loach said the increased staff and equipment will require more money from the NPS budget and possibly future requests to Congress. But the NPS is committed to making the memorial secure in ways that won't affect the typical visitor to Mount Rushmore, he said.

"We want people to come and enjoy Mount Rushmore as they always have. And we want those who have illegal intentions to know we intend to prevent that," he said. "It should be the same as Disney World. There's plenty of security, but you don't see it."

Increased criminal penalties might also be needed to create a deterrence, Loach said. The Greenpeace demonstrators were careful to not cause damage or act in a way to elevate minor charges and penalties into major ones, he said.

"They managed themselves so they wouldn't get more than that," he said. "The criminal offenses are just not equal to the significance of the monument."

The memo describes how the Greenpeace protestors executed their plan with "speed and deliberateness," ascending the mountain in darkness, staging in a gully near the summit and unfurling the banner within 35 minutes of entering the Hall of Records canyon area.

"Ropes, hardware, locks and other equipment matched intended uses," the memo said, indicating extensive knowledge of the terrain and existing climbing foundation.

Some of that has been changed as well, Loach said.

"I won't say what we've done up there," he said. "But we've changed the equation."

Read the memoTo see the NPS Memorandum detailing the security breach at Mount Rushmore and suggestions for corrective actions, go to www.rapidcityjournal.com/media/nps_letter.pdf

Contact Kevin Woster at 394-8413 or kevin.woster@rapidcityjournal.com