Trump nominated Scott Socha, a hospitality executive at Delaware North, to serve as director of the National Park Service, the Associated Press reported. The nomination came late Wednesday, following a period of upheaval inside the agency that has included widespread firings and public criticism over changes to park exhibits. The Senate must confirm Socha for the role.
The administration has pointed to efforts to reshape the Park Service, including changes tied to an order issued last year. Administration officials said they are removing “disparaging” messages, a move critics say is aimed at whitewashing the nation’s history.
Socha is a president for parks and resorts at Delaware North, a company that describes itself as among the world’s largest privately owned hospitality and entertainment businesses. Delaware North said in the AP report that it holds extensive contracts with the National Park Service and provides hospitality services in at least six national parks, including the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone and Shenandoah.
Delaware North spokesperson Cait Zulewski said Socha has served with the company since 1999 and that he would continue in his Delaware North role while his nomination is pending. The company said it has more than 40,000 employees, according to its website.
A White House spokesperson, Taylor Rogers, said Socha was “totally qualified” to carry out Trump’s plans for the park system. Rogers said Socha “looks forward to implementing America First initiatives,” including increasing park access for American families, reducing permitting burdens, and raising money for conservation projects.
The nomination arrives after Trump last year proposed cutting the Park Service’s $2.9 billion operating budget by more than $900 million. Park supporters and former employees said the cuts would gut the agency, even as lawmakers later blocked the proposal and voted to keep the service’s budget at about the same level as in the previous two years.
Even with the budget maintained by Congress, the Park Service has lost staffing since Trump took office, according to the National Parks Conservation Association, which is based in Washington. The association said the agency lost almost a quarter of its employees—more than 4,000 positions—through firings and other changes.
The Park Service also has gone more than a year without a confirmed director, the AP report said. Association director Theresa Pierno said she was ready to work with Socha, but said he must reverse course on recent policies, including the administration’s actions affecting the park system and its approach to vacancies and staffing.
Pierno said that if Socha is confirmed, he must put the Park Service’s mission first, stand up for park staff, fill critical vacancies, and halt what she described as attacks on the nation’s history. She said the group hoped Socha would be that leader given his experience working with the Park Service.