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NPS terminates Crater Lake contract following numerous complaints at national park

By Olivia Harden

After a tumultuous several years, the National Park Service has made good on its recent threat to terminate its current contract and replace Crater Lake National Park’s concessions operator.

Kansas-based ExplorUS announced in a news release on Monday that it had signed a “definitive letter of intent” to take over operations from Crater Lake Hospitality as well as its concessions for the popular West Coast national park.

Crater Lake Hospitality, a subsidiary of Philadelphia-based Aramark, was responsible for handling Crater Lake’s concessions, including food, lodging and other visitor services. The company’s contract was until 2030.

However, after taking over the park’s management in 2018, the company was ranked “unsatisfactory” in some categories in a recent report and criticized for, among other problems, inadequate facility maintenance, insufficient staff training, substandard living and working conditions and reports of sexual assault and harassment among staff.

In its most recent Annual Overall Rating report for Crater Lake, the Park Service awarded the concessionaire an adjusted score of 50 out of 100.

“In recent years, key elements of our work at Crater Lake National Park have not lived up to the standards we set for ourselves,” a spokesperson for Aramark told SFGATE in a statement. “We have worked extensively with the National Park Service to address these issues and identify a long-term solution, including the possibility of another vendor providing services.”

ExplorUS, in a news release, wrote that it “recognizes the critical need for investment especially with dormitory housing and facility updates and has plans to act quickly to resolve much-needed improvements.”

Last month, the Park Service threatened to end its contract with Aramark “unless Crater Lake Hospitality shows cause as to why NPS should not do so,” the Park Service said in a news release. Two months earlier, Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden wrote a letter firmly directing NPS Director Charles Sams III to “take immediate action to make sure the contract is upheld” or consider a new contract.

“It is clear as Crater Lake that from the beginning the National Park Service took my concerns seriously and worked swiftly to put this world-renowned Oregon natural treasure on the path to better concessionaire management that protects the resource and everyone it touches,” Wyden said in a statement on Monday.

Instead of terminating the contract and installing a temporary operator until finalizing a new contract, Aramark is to directly transfer its contract to ExplorUS. ExplorUS currently operates at 11 other national parks, including Hawaii Volcanoes, Muir Woods, Mammoth Cave and Acadia, the company said.

Scott Clemans, a regional spokesperson for the Park Service, told The Oregonian the process would take a few weeks since it requires written approval from the Park Service.

Wyden asked the Park Service to “minimize impacts on visitors and park resources” during the transfer. ExplorUS said it “will seek to transition all current employees and make a significant investment in the park’s facilities, staff training, and visitor services” to minimize those impacts.