The National Park Service Celebrates the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day

On April 22, 2020, the world celebrates the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Fifty years ago, 10% of the U.S. population took to the streets of hundreds of cities and college campuses to protest environmental degradation and advocate for stronger policies and regulations to protect the planet. The first Earth Day is credited with launching the modern environmental movement and is the planet’s largest civic event. Earth Day has led to the enactment of several landmark environmental laws in the U.S., such as the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts.

Every year National Park Services (NPS) concessioners in parks across the nation celebrate Earth Day by holding events at their facilities and using the day to promote visitor awareness of resource protection issues specific to the parks and regions they operate in. Concessioners play a pivotal role in helping to manage and protect NPS resources and, while this year’s Earth Day will look very different with concess ioners not able to put on any special events to inform and celebrate due to federally mandated closures, they continue to support sound environmental management and resource protection in our national parks.

Coincidentally, this year’s Earth Day theme is Climate Action, a mission that concessioners across the parks have taken significant strides in supporting by implementing practices and policies to confront climate change. Most concessioners have implemented strategies and installed equipment to reduce the generation of solid waste – diverting waste from landfills through composting and recycling programs and implementing source reduction strategies throughout their supply chains. Concessioners also engage in the use of alternative fuels as much as possible. Alcatraz Cruises, a NPS concessioner, developed and implemented the first hybrid passenger ferry at Golden Gate National Recreation Area over 10 years ago and now operates the largest fleet of hybrid passenger ferries in the U.S.Xanterra Parks and Resorts, another NPS concessioner, powers and operates Grand Canyon National Park’s historic steam train with used kitchen oil. Several concessioners throughout the NPS use solar and geothermal energy to power portions of their operations. Guest Services, Inc. uses geothermal energy to power food-service kitchens at kiosks throughout the National Mall. Many concessioners even implement sustainable practices behind the scenes too – using alternatively fueled vehicles, rechargeable batteries, LED lights, and low flow water fixtures throughout their operations.

These are just a few examples of what concessioners do in our national parks to support good environmental management, protect park resources, and promote the highest environmental ethic. On this Earth Day, we encourage you to look at what concessioners may be doing in parks close to you.