Park Service backs off shuttle halt on Buffalo

The National Park Service has backed off a plan to stop the shuttling of private vehicles by canoe and kayak concessioners on the Buffalo National River.

The plan, which was revealed in a Nov. 6 prospectus, would have changed the way outfitters have operated on the river for the past 50 years.

Instead of shuttling the private vehicles of their clients, concessioners were supposed to transport them in buses or vans owned, leased or rented by the outfitters. The change was an effort to relieve vehicle congestion at river access points, where parking is limited.

Concessioners argued

that it would increase congestion and costs.

After receiving a “high level of interest and questions,” the Park Service cancelled that prospectus on Dec. 11 and issued a new one Monday.

“The Concessioner must provide transportation for their rental clients and the rental client’s boats to the appropriate drop off and pick up points,” according to the new prospectus. “This may be done by either shuttling people and their rental boats with buses/trailers or by shuttling people’s individual vehicles for them, or any combination of the two.”

According to the new prospectus, concessioners are also authorized, but not required, to provide transportation services for clients who are not renting watercraft from them.

Ben Milburn, owner/operator of Buffalo River Outfitters in Silver Hill, said on Tuesday that he hadn’t had a chance to carefully read the new prospectus, but he was glad to see that the shuttling of private vehicles would continue.

“That was the biggest issue with the last one, eliminating the private shuttles and making us bus everybody to and from the river,” said Milburn. “So I’m glad that that’s not going to be an issue.”

U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Ark. said he liked the looks of the new prospectus.

“I’m glad to see a new prospectus come out, and they’re going to let the concessioners still shuttle people back and forth,” Westerman said. “That just makes a whole lot of sense.”

Westerman said he had lunch with a group of Buffalo National River concessioners at the Ozark Cafe in Japer after the Nov. 6 prospectus was issued.

“It just didn’t make any sense what the Park Service was proposing,” said Westerman. “So we reached out to the Park Service. I’m glad they changed their mind.”

Westerman did that reaching out during a Nov. 30 congressional hearing with Mike Reynolds, deputy director of the National Park Service.

“I recently learned that … the Park Service has released a prospectus for outfitters and guides on the Buffalo National River that would phase out and ultimately ban them from driving private vehicles of visitors who float the river,” Westerman told Reynolds. “This would exacerbate overcrowding. It would raise the cost for the businesses and decrease access…”

Reynolds said he’d look into it.

Westerman said he didn’t know if his efforts got the prospectus changed.

“I definitely brought it up with the right people and made an issue out of it,” he said. “Had the outfitters not made me aware of the issue, I wouldn’t have been able to ask it. So, like most things up here, it’s a team sport to ever get anything done.”

Concessioners argued that the new plan might increase congestion because some groups would drive two vehicles to the river so they could leave one at the put-in location and another at the take-out spot. That way, after a float on the river, they could get in their own vehicle — where dry clothes were stashed — and shuttle the other driver back to the put-in location without having to wait for, and then ride a bus back to the outfitter’s business.

Westerman said he has canoed the Buffalo River many times.

“You don’t want to wait,” he said. “You’re usually tired and hungry and ready to go on to your next thing. … I think the policy they were proposing would lead to overcrowded parking lots. I think what they’re doing would move people around much more efficiently and you won’t have as many vehicles up there.”

Kelly Kager, a commercial services management specialist with the Park Service in Omaha, said she couldn’t comment on a pending prospectus, nor can park personnel.

On Dec. 4, Jonathan Simon, a lawyer in Washington, D.C., wrote a letter to Kager on behalf of the Buffalo River Concessions Group, which consists of four concessioners. He asked the Park Service to reconsider and to authorize private-vehicle shuttling in the new concessioner contracts.

“NPS’s investment analysis does not appear to consider the additional cost to concessioners associated with the prohibition on shuttling private vehicles, which has been common, accepted practice for approximately 50 years,” wrote Simon, regarding the Nov. 6 prospectus. “This includes the cost of purchasing and improving additional real property for parking use (to the extent such property is available) as well as the cost of purchasing, maintaining, and operating appropriate vehicles to provide shuttle service after the prohibition takes effect.”

Under the new prospectus, the Park Service intends to award 12 concession contracts to provide canoe/kayak and shuttle services for a term of 10 years beginning Jan. 1, 2025. Proposals are due May 31. There are currently 12 concession contracts to provide canoe and shuttle services at the Buffalo National River, which had 1.5 million visitors last year.

The existing contracts, started on Jan. 1, 2013, expired on Dec. 31, 2022, and were extended through Dec. 31, 2024.

According to the new prospectus, offerors must agree to pay a minimum franchise fee: 4% on the first $250,000 of gross receipts, 5% on gross receipts between $250,001 and $500,000, and 6% on any gross receipts greater than $500,000.