t’s a mission wrought with contradictions. The National Park Service is charged with preserving the nation’s most beautiful lands in their natural condition while also making them accessible to the public. But how do you leave a small footprint on the land when those footprints number in the millions? Thankfully, the Park Service is getting a little help: Private companies that cater to those visitors are working hard to limit their impact on the planet.
Nearly 600 concessioners operate in our national parks, offering everything from horseback riding, bike rentals, and kayak outfitting to lodging and, of course, food service. The Park Service estimates the number of annual visitors at around 270 million, so it’s easy to see the potential impact on natural resources within the parks and far beyond their borders.
To that end, Blue & Gold Fleet, a concessioner that ferries visitors between San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf and Alcatraz Island has recycled more than 100,000 pounds of cardboard, 32,000 pounds of paper, and 5,000 gallons of used oil. But recycling is old news. You might be a little more surprised to know they’re using environmentally preferred soy-based inks to print tickets, brochures, and business cards, and they’re serving passengers certified shade-grown organic coffee on every trip.
Meanwhile, Zion Lodge in Zion National Park, operated by Xanterra, has reduced solid waste generation by 48 percent by serving beer on tap instead of in bottles, installed photovoltaic arrays to supply power to administrative offices and a dormitory used to house employees, and instituted a composting program.
The Grand Teton Lodge Company purchases renewable energy from the Foote Creek Rim wind project in Wyoming to supply electricity to Jenny Lake Lodge at Grand Teton National Park, and its fleet of buses and trucks are fueled by environmentally friendly biodiesel. Nearby, The Peaks Restaurant within Signal Mountain Lodge, operated by Forever Resorts, now serves USDA-certified organic meals and other natural products. About 90 percent of the menu offerings reflect an environmental slant, from all-natural environmentally raised Oregon beef, organic produce and side dishes to free-range wild game and poultry, reflecting a concern for animal welfare and stewardship of the land.
Just a few years ago, such environmental stewardship wasn’t in vogue among concessioners, but a gentle nudge from Congress got things moving in the right direction. In 1998, the National Park Service Omnibus Management Act clarified the bidding process for park concessioners and updated contractual practices, putting an emphasis squarely on environmental responsibility.
“The 1998 law was a big turning point for concessioners because it revamped the way we do business” says Wendy Berhman, head of the Park Service’s Environmental Management Program in Denver, Colorado. “The new bidding process allocates almost a third of the points to resource protection, and that obviously elevates the importance of this issue for concessioners.”
In essence, the legislation said if you want to make money in the parks, you’ve got to do so responsibly. When bidding for a contract within the park, firms are required to produce a business plan of sorts, detailing their effects on the park environment, establishing goals and targets that address those impacts, even identifying the staff responsible for those issues and educating the public. The legislation also shortened the length of most contracts and as a result, nearly half of the agreements between NPS and park concessioners will be renewed in the next three years, each one placing a premium on environmental practices.
Considering the environmental degradation being wrought to parks throughout the country, it makes sense. Phosphorous runoff from Florida sugar farms kills grasses, plants, and wildlife habitat within the Everglades while overfishing in nearby Biscayne Bay threatens marine life. Parks such as Sequoia & Kings Canyon, Great Smoky Mountains, and Shenandoah all suffer from unhealthy air because of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions from coal-fired power plants. And the list of parks threatened by oil and gas exploration grows every day.
Because innovative, environmentally friendly approaches often require big investments up front, the larger food and lodging companies such as Aramark, Delaware North, Forever Resorts, and Xanterra are leading the pack, using bulk soap dispensers in hotel rooms, harnessing alternative energy sources to power vehicles and light buildings, and serving organic food and sustainable fish in their restaurants. Fortunately these concessioners aren’t hoarding their solutions—they’re sharing their new ideas and new technologies with one another, with help from the Park Service.
From the beginning, NPS recognized that it’s not enough for government to raise the bar for concessioners—it’s important to help them make the leap. So NPS developed its Concession Environmental Management Program, a sort of clearinghouse for environmental practices. Its Greenline newsletter and informative website highlight innovative ideas and award-winning approaches being used by concessioners in the field and offer simple suggestions such as where to buy recycled products and what to do with outdated computers and cellular phones, spent aerosol cans, and leftover paint. NPS even sends environmental auditors to the parks on a regular basis to make sure concessioners are holding to their promises.
And all that effort is making a difference.
“Five years ago, if you’d mentioned environmental management to any of our concessions it would’ve drawn a blank stare,” says Berhman, “but now we’re seeing concessioners come to us to present ideas. A lot of them are being recognized with local, state, and national awards for their work—and that’s exciting.”
More often than not, it’s even in the concessioners’ own interest. Consider, for instance, the efforts of Xanterra, concessioner at Zion, Grand Canyon, and Yellowstone, among others. By introducing hybrid electric vehicles to its fleet, the company is saving hundreds of gallons of gasoline just as the cost of gas is skyrocketing. In the last five years, Xanterra has replaced 27,000 incandescent lamps with more efficient compact fluorescent lamps, yielding nearly $300,000 a year in savings. But sometimes, the changes increase costs: In the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, the park’s recycling is done at Phantom Ranch at the bottom of the canyon, so all the materials brought in need to be hauled back out by mule, all of which requires more staff time and effort.
Visitors sometimes encounter in-conveniences, too, and they’re not shy about pointing them out. Many hotel guests expect their sheets and towels to be cleaned every day, and some even suspect that concessioners are simply cloaking their penny-pinching in the guise of environmentalism. Other visitors aren’t interested in whether or not a certain species of fish is caught using sustainable methods—they simply expect restaurants to cater to their needs. That’s why education is so important. Xanterra went so far as to publish 10,000 copies of its sustainability report in guest rooms, to explain their efforts and the resulting impact on the environment; the response has been largely positive.
“I get letters and phone calls saying, ‘Wow, I’m so excited you’re finally telling us about these efforts, and I love that my sheets weren’t changed, my lights were more efficient… I had to use bulk dispensers, but I understand that I’m saving soap bottles,’” says Chris Lane, Xanterra’s director of Environmental Affairs. “But it’s a mixed bag—we also hear, ‘If you’re so green, why did I get a plastic fork [with my meal]?’ But in general, the green things we’ve done have been more efficient and provided higher-quality products. No one’s complained that the salmon doesn’t taste as good, because it tastes better. No one’s complaining about the napkins being brown and chlorine-free. And no one’s complained about the bulk ketchup dispensers, because it just makes sense.”
