Trump’s Nominee to Lead the National Park Service Is a Hospitality Executive

President Trump’s pick to run the National Park Service (NPS)is an executive from the world of restaurants and hotels—but not public land management.

On February 11, Trump nominated Scott Socha to serve as the next director of the NPS. Socha is currently the president of parks and resorts at Delaware North, an American food service and hotel management company that operates venues around the world.

According to the Delaware North website, Socha’s division within the company currently provides hospitality services in seven national parks, three state parks, and at the Kennedy Space Center. It also operates hotels in five gateway communities to NPS sites.

Socha’s nomination now heads to the U.S. Senate, which could confirm his appointment via a simple majority vote.

Socha represents a somewhat unorthodox pick for the position, which has traditionally been held by veterans of the NPS or of other agencies that manage public lands. His predecessor, Charles Sams III, took the role after a 30-year career in conservation management and land preservation. Jonathan Jarvis, who held the position from 2009 until 2016, held the role of NPS ranger for more than 30 years.

Mary Bomar, who was chosen for the position in 2006 by President George W. Bush, was a superintendent at several historic parks and memorials before her nomination.

Socha’s nomination prompted a flurry of statements from nonprofit groups that work with the NPS and other public land agencies.

“If confirmed, he must put the Park Service’s mission first, stand up for park staff, fill critical vacancies, and halt attacks on our nation’s history,” said Theresa Pierno, CEO of the National Parks Conservation Association, in a statement. “Our national parks need strong, sensible leadership now more than ever before.”

The National Park Service has lost approximately 4,000 jobs since February, 2025, when the Trump Administration initiated widespread layoffs in the agency. The NPS is also facing a major budget cut in 2026.

In a statement, Jayson O’Neill, a spokesperson for the nonprofit Save Our Parks, criticized Socha’s nomination, pointing out his lack of experience in public land management. “He’s made a career out of extracting maximum profit from our national parks, not protecting them, making it abundantly clear he’ll be doing the bidding of special interests and corporate interests,” O’Neill said.

Other nonprofits criticized Socha’s connection to Delaware North, which is a longtime contractor with the NPS. Over the years, the Buffalo, New York-based business has operated hotels and dining halls inside various NPS units. According to The Associated Press, Delaware North currently works with seven different NPS sites, including the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, and Shenandoah.

Delaware North and NPS have also squared off in court—the two entities settled a years-long lawsuit in 2019 over a trademark dispute. According to National Parks Traveler, that dispute sparked in 2016 after Delaware North lost a contract to operate concessions inside Yellowstone National Park to a company operated by another concessionaire, Aramark.

According to The Associated Press, Socha has been with the company since 1999, and he will stay in his current role during his confirmation hearing with the U.S. Senate.