Store Claims Yellowstone Faithless

For decades, Hamilton Stores, the main gift shop operator in Yellowstone National Park, has had the exclusive in-park rights to sell souvenirs carrying the Yellowstone name or unique park features like a gushing Old Faithful.

Now at the prompting of Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt, park managers have revoked the exclusive right and allowed TW Recreational Services, the park lodging concessionaire, to stock items with the park name in its nine hotel gift shops.

The Park Service profits twice. First, tourists now have an easier time finding and buying park souvenirs. And because TW Services returns nearly 10 times more of its revenue to the government than Hamilton Stores, the park’s income rises.

Although Hamilton Stores officials refused to discuss the development, they are apparently unhappy about what they say are declining revenues.

When the National Park Service tried in 1985 to deregulate use of the Yellowstone name, Hamilton Stores sued. The Park Service won in court, but Yellowstone managers backed off and left the name exclusively in the hands of Hamilton Stores.

Hamilton Stores has again threatened legal action, said Edna Good, chief of concession management in Yellowstone, but park officials are confident the original decision will stand.

“We’re trying to serve the visitors, not the companies,” she said.

Last year, Hamilton Stores grossed $22 million in receipts from its park business, according to federal figures, and Good remains unconvinced by company claims that the year-old decision to let TW Services sell the Yellowstone name has hurt its business.

“When we talked with people this summer, they seemed to have bought as much in Hamilton’s as they ever did,” Good said. “Visitation was down and, if they see a difference, it may be because of that.”