SUBCOMMITTEE ON NATIONAL PARKS, FORESTS, AND PUBLIC LANDS
1334 Longworth House Office Building
Thursday, August 2, 2012
2:00 p.m.

OVERSIGHT HEARING ON:

• "Concession Contract Issues for Outfitters, Guides and Smaller Concessions"

OPENING STATEMENT:

The Honorable Rob Bishop
Chairman

WITNESSES AND TESTIMONY:

Panel I

Peggy O'Dell
Deputy Director for Operations
National Park Service
Department of the Interior

David Brown
Executive Director
American Outdoors Association
(Truth in Testimony Form)

Rick Lindsey
Owner
Prime Insurance Company
(Truth in Testimony Form)

Mike Mills
Owner
Buffalo Outdoor Center
(Truth in Testimony Form)

Nat Patridge
President
Exum Mountain Guides
(Truth in Testimony Form)

BACKGROUND:

Special Use Permits are contracts that are issued and approved by the National Park Service to an individual, business, or organization allowing them to operate within National Park Service boundaries. A Special Use Permit must be acquired for activities that require some degree of management by the National Park Service. Over the years, the application and renewal process for special use permits have grown more time-consuming and complex. The increasingly burdensome requirements jeopardize the services that make National Park backcountry available to the public. This hearing will examine how contract requirements and management issues affect outdoor recreation in the National Parks. It will also focus on the skyrocketing costs imposed on smaller concession owners and what additional requirements are expected to be imposed in the future. Witnesses will include officials from the National Park Service and local service providers.