2001 Department of the Interior
Environmental Achievement Award Recipients

Amfac Parks and Resorts, a National Park Service concessioner, has worked to improve the environmental aspects of its operations at National Park sites throughout the country, including the Grand Canyon National Park (NP), Zion NP, Yellowstone NP, and Mount Rushmore National Monument, employing environmental management systems. Starting with a corporate-wide commitment to environmental protection, Amfac followed words with action when it hired a Corporate Director of Environmental Programs. A company-wide Environmental Strategic Plan calls for the formation of ‘Green Teams’ at all sites. The potential environmental impacts of planned capital expenditures are now assessed in advance per a defined protocol.

Investments in propane boilers and pollution-controls for tour buses have improved air quality at the Grand Canyon. All snowmobiles rented out at Yellowstone NP now have cleaner four-stroke engines. Environmentally preferable cleaning products are used in lodges in Yellowstone, complementing a similar effort by park staff there. Energy conservation projects and aggressive recycling/composting activities are pursued at all sites. Guests to the resorts are drawn into these practices through information shared in their room and throughout the facilities. Looking beyond the park boundaries, Amfac has a policy banning from their restaurants seafoods that are being overfished.