National Park Service Intermountain Regional Director Sue Masica announced the selection of Jenny Lake Boating, Inc. to provide boat shuttle service, scenic interpretive boat tours, and non-motorized boat rentals at Jenny Lake in Grand Teton National Park. The new ten-year concession contract is anticipated to begin Jan. 1, 2018.
“Concessioners fill a vital role in helping the National Park Service carry out its mission by offering high-quality commercial visitor services," said David Vela, superintendent of Grand Teton National Park. At Jenny Lake, approximately 160,000 visitors are served through this concessions contract each summer.
The boat services at Jenny Lake are currently provided by Jenny Lake Boating, Inc. through a contract which became effective Jan. 1, 2008, and will expire on Dec. 31, 2017. The National Park Service solicited proposals for this business opportunity from March 28 through June 16, 2017.
Proposals are evaluated and selected under the provisions of the 1998 Concessions Management Improvement Act by a panel of National Park Service representatives outside of Grand Teton National Park. The Act allows concession contracts to be awarded with the intent of ensuring quality visitor services, protecting park resources, and enhancing the competitive contract process for National Park Service concession contracts. Guidelines used to evaluate all proposals can be found online at https://concessions.nps.gov.
A concessions operation is a way of providing commercial visitor services through a third party within a national park. These services, provided through the use of concession contracts, are necessary and appropriate for visitor use and enjoyment. Concession contracts are generally valid for ten years or less but can extend for as many as twenty years. The rates the concessioner can charge for these services are approved by the National Park Service and must be comparable to those under similar conditions outside the park.
Grand Teton National Park has 26 authorized concessioners that provide visitor services related to lodging, camping, food and beverage, retail, gas stations, marinas and related boat amenities, guided mountain climbing, river floating, lake scenic boating, river and lake fishing, horseback riding, skiing and snowshoeing, transportation and more.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
