Zinke stacks the deck on outdoor recreation committee
The private company that trademarked “Yosemite National Park?” Yep, they’re included.
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is at it again, stacking his advisory panels with industry interests set to profit off of policy changes. In the last year, he’s asked energy companies for advice on oil and gas royalties and trophy hunters for advice on wildlife conservations in Africa. Now he’s asking corporate concessionaires and industry trade associations for advice on privatizing park services and outdoor recreation on our public lands.
This week the Interior Department announced the Secretary’s “Made in America” Outdoor Recreation Advisory Committee, created to give input on “public-private partnerships across all public lands,” particularly in national parks. Amazingly, all but one person selected to the panel represents an industry trade organization, company, or major concessionaire. In documents obtained by the Washington Post, National Park Service staff flagged four nominees with possible conflicts of interest, due to either being active park concessionaires or advocating for concessionaires. Zinke eventually chose three of those four nominees to sit on the panel.
Secretary Zinke has long wanted to privatize services within our parks. This summer, he told the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association, which has three of the fifteen members on the new panel, “As the secretary, I don’t want to be in the business of running campgrounds. My folks will never be as good as you are.” He’s argued for privatized Wi-Fi in parks, saying it should be like the airlines (overpriced and underperforming, I guess). So it comes as little surprise that he’s now asking the companies who stand to profit from park privatization for their input.
Of course these companies should be a part of the discussion; however, they should not form the entire discussion. We’re talking about the future of our national parks and public lands here, and yet there are no public interest conservation organizations, no user groups representing hikers, bikers, or paddlers, not even former National Park Service or Bureau of Land Management employees.
So who else is represented? You may have heard of Aramark, the food service giant that runs cafeterias and concessions around the world, or Choice Hotels International, which owns chains such as Comfort Inn and Econo Lodge. Also on the panel is the co-CEO of Delaware North, one of the world’s largest privately-held companies that manages food, beverage, and lodging concessions at entertainment complexes, airports, and parks around the country.
Delaware North is perhaps most infamously known for trademarking the names of landmarks within Yosemite National Park — including the Ahwahnee, Curry Village, and Wawona Hotel — then demanding the National Park Service pay tens of millions to continue using the century-old names after losing the concessions contract. The company even trademarked the phrase “Yosemite National Park” and the image of Half Dome, the park’s iconic logo. The ugly dispute is still playing out in court, where the U.S. Justice Department is opposing Delaware North, but that hasn’t stopped Zinke from welcoming the company back to the table.
In just over a year in office, Secretary Zinke has cozied up to virtually every industry affected by Interior Department policies. He’s carried out the agendas of the American Petroleum Institute and the National Mining Association. He’s ignored comments from millions of Americans asking him to leave national monuments alone. Now, he’s cherry-picked a panel of corporate concessionaires and trade associations to advise him on outdoor recreation and privatizing services at our parks.
If Zinke were serious about starting a robust discussion, he’d add seats at the table and ensure those with a wide range of viewpoints are heard. Unfortunately, given Secretary Zinke’s track record, that’s probably too much to hope for.
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