There's much uncertainty over how concessions in the National Park System will operate this year as the country battles Covid-19/Kurt Repanshek file

With the coronavirus pandemic anything but tamed, the companies that operate lodges and restaurants in the National Park System are taking a cautious approach to the upcoming summer season in coping with the disease.

“COVID has proved anything but predictable and it would be difficult to say with certainty what the upcoming summer season will look like," said Scott Socha, who oversees Delaware North's parks and resorts division. "What we do know is that people are excited to visit and explore our national parks, in part because outdoor destinations are inherently safer alternatives for spring and summer travel than many other destinations."

The evolving situation with the disease that has killed more than 419,000 in the United States is making it tricky for concessionaires to plan for the summer. With hiring commitments soon to be made, companies are trying to figure out whether to hire a workforce based on full operations, or at operations scaled back to 80 percent of normal or 50 percent of normal. The risk they take is hiring less than a full workforce only to see the virus greatly diminished because of the vaccination program rolling out across the country.

"I will tell you, if we turn around (and need to hire more), those employees won't be there to hire," Bill Butts, Forever Resorts' senior VP of resort operations, said during a phone call. "If it gets worse, we'll have to get ahold of people and say, 'I know we gave you a commitment to hire you, but we're going to have to rescind that.'

"... If you would have asked me in December, I would have said this is no problem, we'll just have all employees show up vaccinated," he added. "Well, I don't know if that's going to be the case, what with the way the vaccinations have gone. Suffice to say, for the most part what we're doing across the board is we are not opening with normal full operations."

From there, he said, decisions will be made based on the spread of Covid-19.

"Obviously, if we have to backtrack we will, but we hope we won't," said Butts. "It would be easier to backtrack than to try to step up and gear up to have more services open than we're prepared to."

The National Park Service has released some public service graphics to encourage visitors to wear masks/NPS

Back at Delaware North, Socha said the company's Rest Assured/Commitment to Care program was successful last year in keeping guests and employees safe.

"We aligned the program with the best practices promoted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and have worked with the National Park Service and local health officials to ensure we are delivering a safe and secure hospitality environment at the lodging we operate in the parks," he said in an email. "In 2021 we will continue to work in close partnership with NPS to adjust our offerings and protocols as needed and on short notice while accommodating pent-up demand and ensuing a safe experience for everyone."

An executive order signed by President Biden earlier this month stipulates that all federal employees, contractors, and visitors "in Federal buildings and on Federal lands should all wear masks, maintain physical distance, and adhere to other public health measures, as provided in CDC guidelines."

With no confirmed Interior secretary and no confirmed National Park Service director, those agencies haven't come out with any other specific directions to slow the spread of the disease, though an Interior press release said the department "will have additional department-specific guidance in the days and weeks to come."