Opinion: Our national parks deserve better leadership

The following opinion piece is a guest post by Matthew J. Nelson, executive director of the Arizona Trail Association. It was originally published in the Fountain Hill Times on March 28 and is reprinted here with permission.

northNational parks are our most precious resources. From Saguaro to the Grand Canyon, Congressional designation of a national park is a source of pride for Arizonans and a bucket-list destination for Americans and international visitors alike. Filmmaker Ken Burns made famous the sentiment that national parks are “America’s best idea,” and anyone who has visited a park will likely agree. As we celebrate our 250th anniversary as a nation, the only thing that should foster pride in America is our national parks.

That’s why we should all be outraged by the recent appointment of Scott Socha as Director of the National Park Service. While our current administration has made some abhorrent nominations for cabinet positions over the past year, I am more concerned about this one than all the others. The reason is simple: Socha is not at all qualified for the position. He lacks the experience and merits to even be considered to lead the agency responsible for the care of our national parks. However, a White House spokesperson recently stated: “Scott Socha is a phenomenal choice to serve as the next director of National Parks and is fully qualified to execute the president’s vision for our nation’s parks.”

Federal law is clear that the director “shall have substantial experience and demonstrated competence in land management and conservation of natural or cultural resources.” That alone should disqualify Socha, whose experience with national parks is entirely as a dealership: As president of Delaware North, his company profits from selling snacks and renting hotel rooms to visitors.

For those of us who have long been concerned about the privatization of public resources, this nomination should ring alarm bells. Socha has not only profited from concession contracts, but he sued the National Park Service in 2016 for $51 million when his company lost the contract within Yosemite National Park. Socha claimed that his company owned the rights to the names and logos associated with Ahwahnee Hotel and Yosemite Lodge. Ultimately, the federal government settled the lawsuit in 2019 for $12 million, paid for by taxpayers like you and me. It’s worth noting that Ahwahnee is the traditional name of Yosemite Valley for the Ahwahnechee, the original inhabitants who were forcibly removed in the 1850s. For a New York-based corporation to claim rights to the name is beyond egregious.

National parks are home to natural and cultural resources like no other place on Earth. We owe it to future generations to protect and preserve this priceless heritage. At a time when the National Parks workforce has been 25% hacked and morale is at an all-time low, we need leadership committed to conservation, not commercialization.

Contact your senators today and tell them to VOTE NO on the nomination of Scott Socha as Director of the National Park Service. Below is an easy way to find your contact information: https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm

About the author

Matthew J. Nelson is the executive director of the Arizona Trail Association and a former Grand Canyon backpacking guide. He lives in the Sonoran Desert west of Tucson, Arizona.

Cover image: Yosemite National Park. Photo: Caroline “Forager”

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